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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28536756">9th Mark of the Dragon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brittles_06/pseuds/Brittles_06'>Brittles_06</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aurors, Draco Malfoy &amp; Harry Potter Friendship, F/M, Head Auror Draco Malfoy, Head Auror Harry Potter, Head Auror Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger &amp; Pansy Parkinson Friendship, Hickeys and Lovebites, Large Cock, Magical Beast Murder Mystery, Masturbation, Mental Health Issues, Ministry of Magic Employee Hermione Granger, Ministry of Magic Employee Luna Lovegood, Murder Mystery, Mutual Pining, Non-Canon Relationship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Draco Malfoy/Pansy Parkinson, Past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Past Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Praise Kink, Size Kink, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:20:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>49,640</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28536756</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brittles_06/pseuds/Brittles_06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione and Luna are investigating a case that involves the death of numerous magical beasts. What they stumble upon is so much bigger than either of them could have imagined.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>112</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>DISCLAIMER - I do not own Harry Potter or it's characters<br/>This will be a multi-chapter fic that I will be updating once every Sunday</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>She checked the time on her hickory-colored vinewood wand for the third time in five minutes, tapping her foot. Her impatience with her friend’s tardiness was starting to grate on her nerves. But being late was nothing new for Ron and Harry. At this point, she always showed up ten minutes later than the agreed-upon time and still managed to be ahead of them. Maybe she should start saying their lunch was at noon so they made the twelve-thirty timeline. </p><p> </p><p>Honestly, they were only going to the Ministry’s fitness depot for their morning spar, which started right after their debrief. </p><p> </p><p>Some days it was a wonder that Ron and Harry had made it as far as they had as Aurors with how tardy they were, not to mention the fact that the paperwork they filed was absolute rubbish. Hermione cringed every single time their paperwork landed on her desk for her to add notes to when their departments crossed paths out in the field. </p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, that was far and few between. Maybe an audit had happened where they were enforced to do better. That’s about the only way they’d step up their game. Granted, with their recent promotions may be the additional responsibility had encouraged them to be more detailed in their notes? One could hope. </p><p> </p><p>She tried not to harp on them too much. They’d all been through a lot since Voldemort’s defeat, but when their awful penmanship and lackluster notes meant the release of the accused, they needed to be better.</p><p> </p><p>“Hermione! Over here!” Ronald waved his hand above the crowd, his red hair and six-foot frame standing out from the rest of the crowd.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry we’re late, Hermione. We got caught up in some bets on who could take who during our morning spar session.” Harry looked short compared to Ron but his five foot eight frame was nothing to balk at, especially when she was the shortest of the trio now. </p><p> </p><p>“You could have sent me an owl once you finished before you showered then I wouldn’t have been waiting here for,” she glanced at her wand, “twenty-three minutes.” She glanced away from the boys, trying to hide some of her annoyance at their tardiness but some things she feared would never change.</p><p> </p><p>“Next time we’ll remember.” Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron’s comment, knowing full well that they’d both forget next time, too.</p><p> </p><p>“How was morning training?” Hermione inquired as they started to make their way into the restaurant and over to their regular Thursday table. </p><p> </p><p>It had become a routine of theirs over the past year to eat out on the same day, at the same time to play catch up in each other’s lives. While Harry and Ron were able to see each other several times a week, it was far and few between when the three of them could see each other. Even though Ginny and she were roommates, the boys rarely popped over for visits. Being at their homes with their exes was still a bit on the odd side. Even if their relationships had been over for a while, there were still lingering memories.</p><p> </p><p>“It was bloody fantastic!” Ron threw back his chair, plopping himself in like an excited child. “We did our regular routine shit before Arch started to pair us up.”</p><p> </p><p>“That doesn’t sound like anything out of the ordinary.” Hermione took a sip of her water, still looking at Ron. “Mr. Lawrence has been having two-on-two duals for several months now.” It was hard to believe that the Auror’s Head Training Master would deviate from his well thought out and meticulous planning. He’d been instructing, teaching, and coaching the up and coming Aurors for roughly a decade now, so clearly he was doing something right.</p><p> </p><p>“True, however, Arch decided to change his tactics with whom he paired up for the GRAND FINALLY!” Ron’s voice became deeper as if he was announcing to the fans at a Quidditch match.    </p><p> </p><p>“Alright, and who was the final duel between?” </p><p> </p><p>“Malfoy and Katie Bell,” Ron smirked as Hermione choked on the water she had been sipping on, pressing a hand to her chest as she coughed several times.</p><p> </p><p>“Is Mr. Lawrence mental? How was <em> that </em> a wise choice?”</p><p> </p><p>“That was kind of the point,” Harry placed his menu down as the waitress came around, each taking a moment to order. “We’ve been sparring against one another for a while so Archie decided we need unfamiliar opponents during training.” </p><p> </p><p>“Back up. You are both talking about sparring and dueling, which are two very different things, so which were they actually participating in?”</p><p> </p><p> The two men smirked at one another before replying at the same time, “Both.”</p><p> </p><p>“You see, it started off as a regular duel, things were evenly matched for a while but you could see the anger start to radiate off Katie,” Harry began his explanation as his soup arrived. “Malfoy kept his cool, never once lashing out or causing serious harm.”</p><p> </p><p>“Not until Katie started throwing some nasty ass hexes,” Ron paused, a happy look on his face as he recalled the memory. “Malfoy deflected them for a while but then he fought back and that’s when they both disarmed one another. Katie went in for the kill, punching the prat in the nose.” Hermione’s hands fisted in her long skirt under the table, holding her breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Malfoy ended up winning, pinning her to the ground until Katie tapped out. Arch kept them after the match but I lost three sickle in the match as I bet on Katie.” Ron huffed as he started in on his soup, slurping loudly. “Harry cleaned up though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Malfoy’s personality leaves little to be desired, however, he is a top-notch Auror who had to endure the Dark Lord for a couple of years. His skills are something to be admired.”</p><p> </p><p>“True, there is a reason he is the head of his own department now as well as you two.” Hermione unclenched her hands, picking up her fork, and starting eating her salad. Hermione found Ron’s personal attacks and nit-picking on Malfoy to be, well, just plain <em> mean </em>. Not that their childhood rivalry would ever go away between the Gryffindor Knight and the Slytherin Prince, but some sense of decorum should be exhibited from Ron. Especially, considering everything Malfoy went through to get to where he was now.</p><p> </p><p>“Being six foot two and slightly over two hundred pounds against someone who is five foot ten and maybe a hundred and thirty pounds also has its advantages.” Harry picked up his sandwich, checking to see if they left out the onions like he had asked before proceeding to bite into it. </p><p> </p><p>“I still can’t believe that prat is bigger than me, by two bloody inches. The world is truly unfair.” Harry side-eyed Hermione both of which broke down into a fit of giggles. “What the hell are you two on about?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing, mate. How has your week been, Hermione?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s been a busy week. We have the final draft on the House Elf Welfare being sent up for review today, along with the Werewolf School Inclusion policy being sent out to Hogwarts, the British Werewolf Council, and Ministry officials. We’ve started negotiations with the centaurs as well, trying to get them into Hogwarts. Plus, I have been in numerous meetings with Zabini, Parkinson, and Nott the last couple of weeks.”</p><p> </p><p>“Zabini, Parkinson, and Nott? What the hell could you need to discuss with them?”</p><p> </p><p>“Honestly, Ronald?” Hermione huffed, annoyed at his lack of interest in her work. “Zabini now manages Zabini Magical Maladies Inc, which you might recall is the largest provider of potions in all of Europe. Who else am I going to work with to get enough Wolfsbane potion into Hogwarts that has all the licensing approvals required in multiple countries that Headmaster McGonagall agrees with?” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione was impressed with how far Zabini had come, considering his stance on everything with the Battle of Hogwarts. His biological father had passed away during the battle, a Death Eater who Zabini could care little about since he left shortly after he was born. His mother, according to the tabloids, was on her sixth marriage after spending most of the family fortune on her extravagant lifestyle. Taking over a large company at twenty-one was no easy feat but he was managing to do just that.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine, that’s fair I suppose. What the hell does Nott have though that you’d need?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ronald, do you really know nothing about what happened to anyone outside your immediate friend, family, and workgroup?” Ron shrugged his shoulders as he scarfed down several fries. “Nott Industries Inc. is now owned and managed by Theodore, and their company specializes in magical inventions.”</p><p> </p><p>“And you need a magical invention because?” Ron asked, tearing into his burger.</p><p> </p><p>“To create safe spaces for werewolves to be on the night of full moon while at Hogwarts. Ones that are up to code and that will benefit all parties involved. Ronald, do you listen to nothing I say when I talk about work?” Hermione fought against the urge to smack Ron upside the head. Nott was making waves in magical technological advances which had surprised the heck out of her. She knew he tinkered around a bit while at Hogwarts but to be invited to study with Knox MacNally, Director of Technological Engineering at TouchIT Inc in Scotland, was an immense honor.   </p><p> </p><p>“It all kinda runs together,” he mumbled, taking another bite of his burger.  </p><p> </p><p>“Just because they were in Slytherin does not mean they are awful people. Seamus Finnigan works for Nott in the explosives department and Melinda Bobbin heads up Zabini’s apothecary. Zabini sought Melinda out a couple of years ago because her family has owned a large chain of apothecaries for almost a century, plus she was in the Slug Club so I’d wager she did quite well in potions class.” The students who had all been in her year had learned, first hand, how important it was to work together. To look outside of their own Houses. Talent was everything but it seemed that Slytherin’s were keener to capitalize on that front than most. </p><p> </p><p>“What have you been discussing with Pansy? How is she enjoying Paris?” Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry. She hadn’t talked to Harry in a week and never once had she mentioned that Pansy was in Paris. How intriguing.   </p><p> </p><p>“Her fashion line is doing very well, especially since the Grand Opening of the Paris storefront was last month. Milan and New York have kept her quite busy so she has hired new managers for each location, not that she has added Paris. Ever the dreamer though, she now set her sights on London, Melbourne, and Vancouver. However, her clothing trial for werewolves starts next week since that is when the full moon is happening.”</p><p> </p><p>“Clothing trial?” Hermione rubbed her temples as Ron’s disinterest in her work started grating on her nerves. Another reason as to why they were no longer together. </p><p> </p><p>“The magical clothing that will allow a werewolf to shift, not rip, and fully clothes them once they are human again. We cannot have a bunch of children at Hogwarts running around in their birthday suits, can we Ronald?” Although, with Pansy’s sense of humor she wouldn’t put it past her to try something such as this. Being roommates with Pansy, Ginny, and Luna during her eighth year at Hogwarts had been eye-opening. The first month was definitely rough, no-one overly trusted Pansy and that caused a lot of issues between the tighter three in the group. However, after a night of truth or drink with several bottles of fire whisky, they had hashed out their differences and become good friends.</p><p> </p><p>“Certainly would make life more interesting.” Harry covered a laugh with a cough at Ron’s comment as Hermione rolled her eyes. Sex had been at the forefront of Ron’s mind when he was with Lavendar, but when they had been together it was awkward touches and hesitant kisses. Another reason why they weren’t together now. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you have a Thursday girl to keep yourself entertained now, Weaselbee? One for every night?” Hermione whipped around to look for the smooth voice that echoed from behind her chair. There stood Draco Malfoy, his black suit and tie, suiting him perfectly. Hair artfully mussed with a slight comb-over in the front to keep it from his eyes, he was the picture of refinery.</p><p> </p><p>“Eavesdropping again, Malfoy? Need some pointers on how to keep a girl?” Ron paused in eating his sandwich to reply to the blonde. “Oh wait, you have money to keep them around if they can’t stomach you. How <em> is </em>Astoria doing lately?” Hermione pinned Ron with a glare as she watched Malfoy’s hand closest to her clench.</p><p> </p><p>There was very little she knew about the rehabilitated Slytherin, outside of what the tabloids and his Ministry file said. He was always polite to her when they were in the same vicinity, and had stood up for her once or twice when dealing with Zabini’s potions company. Which still struck her as odd for two reasons. One; he was advocating one of her passions at work. Two; why had Zabini caved so easily? </p><p> </p><p>“Astoria, and her family, are very much enjoying the life they are making in Canada. Perhaps you shouldn’t judge me about keeping women around.” Malfoy moved his eyes to where Hermione sat then back to Ron, a smirk plastered on his face. “Have a good lunch. Potter, I’ll see you later for our meeting at two.”</p><p> </p><p>“See you then, Malfoy.” Hermione smiled into her lap as it still amazed her at how close the once arch enemies had become over the years. As she watched him depart the only thought that crossed her mind was how his pants looked like they were molded to his arse. </p><p> </p><p>“So what are two heads of two very different departments meeting about?” The Ministry decided that it was time to divvy up the Auror department, diversify to help the greater good, and luckily they had a slew of talented young wizards and witches to choose from. </p><p> </p><p>Harry had been promoted to the Head Auror of Hexes, which he had grumbled about the amount of paperwork. However, she could tell that he was loving the new role and responsibilities. He had three people that reported to him, his secretary, and two first-year Aurors that were intrigued by his department. The sparring and dueling sessions kept him from going stir crazy in his office, but there were oftentimes he was messaging her about forms or certain processes. It was nice to know that he still needed her in his life, even if it was inquiries about menial tasks.</p><p> </p><p>The greatest laugh she had ever had in her life was watching Ron being Head Auror of Stealth and Tracking. If that wasn’t one of the most ironic job positions then she didn’t know what was. Hermione was pretty sure he didn’t have a silent bone in his entire body. From sleep talking to stomping around ALL the time to thinking whispering meant talking at regular volumes. Granted, she supposed some of that was attributed from his rather large family. Ron took great pride in his work, accomplishing something that no one else had in his family was a huge ego-boost for someone who wanted to stand-out.</p><p> </p><p>Malfoy had the most fitting promotion of all, especially since his marks were second only to hers, as he was the new Head Auror of Potions. It came as no surprise to her that he had a potions laboratory at Malfoy Manor, but she had no idea what he was doing in there or what had come from his findings. It was a mystery to her, one that she desperately wanted answers to. However, she felt it incredibly rude to randomly ask the tall blonde about his home life, so she’d bide her time until an opportunity presented itself.  </p><p> </p><p>“Malfoy has an idea he wants to run past me, but I honestly have no idea what it’s about,” Harry finished off the rest of his sandwich, wiping his hands on the napkin. “What about you? What’s on your agenda this afternoon?”</p><p> </p><p>“Luna scheduled a meeting with me but I don’t have the slightest idea why. She’s been out in the field for almost two months now, so I can’t imagine she’d need to report anything to me. I’m sure Sophia Dixon would be her first stop, seeing as she is Luna’s Department Head of Magical Beasts.” </p><p> </p><p>“Blimey, how did that spaced out woman get into the field she is in now?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ron,” Harry gave Ron a look that said to be nice. “Luna is a very successful Magizoologist who has been helping to save endangered species, with the assistance of Hermione’s department. She clearly can see, or hear, things that we can’t when it comes to magical creatures. You’re not still sore that she turned you down, are you?” Hermione looked up from her plate, head swinging back and forth between the two men several times.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, did you just insinuate that Ronald had asked Luna out on a date?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, right before she went on her expedition.” Harry smiled at his pouting friend.</p><p> </p><p>“Pft said that our nargles didn’t make a good match. What the bloody hell does that even mean?” Ron spluttered as he finished off the rest of his meal.</p><p> </p><p>“It means she doesn’t fancy you, mate. You took your shot and she fired back with a resounding <em> no </em>.” Harry shrugged his shoulders as Ron grumbled as he pushed his plate away, ever the sore loser in most aspects of his life. “Anyways, we should be heading back soon. It’s my week to pay so I’ll see you next week unless we happen to cross paths sooner.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Harry. Have a great rest of the day and we’ll see the two of you soon.” She gave them a bright smile before heading back in the direction of the Ministry, smiling and nodding her head as people greeted her on her way to her office. </p><p> </p><p>“How was lunch, Miss Granger?” The voluptuous raven-haired woman politely smiled at Hermione, her normal slouch replaced with straighter posture. Her well-manicured nails gripped her pen rather tight for one so naturally cheerful.</p><p> </p><p>“Harper,” Hermione sternly smiled at her assistant, “How many times do I need to tell you to call me Hermione?” </p><p> </p><p>“You have a guest in your office, Miss Granger, so it would be rude of me to address you as anything else.” Hermione took in Harper’s stiff posture and pinched face, immediately on edge because her only appointment this afternoon was with Luna. Luna wouldn’t insight such a reaction. </p><p> </p><p>“Miss Baxter, who is currently in my office?”</p><p> </p><p>“Lucius Malfoy.” Her head snapped up to stare into Harper’s dark brown eyes, back straight, breath held. </p><p> </p><p>“Did Mr. Malfoy state why he needed to speak to me?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, Miss Granger. He asked to wait for you, though.” Lucius Malfoy may now be a ‘Defected’ Death Eater, along with his son, wife, and a few others, but that did not mean she was going to immediately trust the man. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Miss Baxter.” Hermione strolled into her office, an air of confidence about her. “Mr. Malfoy, to what do I owe the pleasure?”</p><p> </p><p>“Miss Granger, lovely to see you in your own office. My inquiry has to do with that large pearl you were using in the forest not a week or so ago. Such magical items are highly coveted so I was inquiring as to where you found it.” Hermione’s back was to the man as she made her way around to her desk, taking the precious few moments to compose herself. Her eyes unfocused briefly as she found herself surrounded by deciduous trees, the full moon lighting the clearing she had occupied. Blinking several times to clear the memory, she turned back to address her guest.</p><p> </p><p>“Mr. Malfoy, that small bauble was given to me by a mentor during my eighth year at Hogwarts. It is not something I am willing to part with, nor do I know the origins of such a trinket.” </p><p> </p><p>“Miss Granger, do not insult my intelligence by telling me that magical artifact is less impressive than the time turner you acquired in your third year.” Hermione narrowed her eyes at the older blonde snake. “Rest assured, I will figure out what it is and what you are hiding. It may escape everyone else’s scope but it has not escaped mine.”</p><p> </p><p>“Mr. Malfoy, are you having me watched?”</p><p> </p><p>“My network may not have the same range as it once did but rest assured, I hear about far more than the average person does.” Hermione clenched her fists at her side, such a political answer for one such as him. </p><p> </p><p>“What I do with my life, on my own personal time, should not be your concern.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think that just because the war is over that there isn't a battle being fought? That the Ministry can override centuries of brainwashing in certain pureblood homes with useless laws that cannot be enforced? I might have seen the error of my ways, reformed, and embraced my third chance at life, but not everyone is granted such pleasure. Miss Granger, do not tell me that you have also turned a blind eye to what is truly happening in the world?”</p><p> </p><p> Hermione honestly believed the man had seen the error of his ways after watching what the Dark Lord put his family through, the true monstrosity that had been set upon the world. Did that mean she trusted every word that came from a snake’s mouth? Absolutely not. Actions always speak louder than words.</p><p> </p><p>“It would be ignorant of me to believe that there are not still those who follow the Dark Lord or his beliefs, but I have faith in our new Ministry, in the Aurors such as your son. Maybe you should place your mouth, and your wallet, into some of these initiatives, Mr. Malfoy.”</p><p> </p><p>“I have been doing what I can within the allotted ability of the nature of my release from Azkaban. Narcissa is expecting me home soon, so I will bid you good day Miss Granger.”</p><p> </p><p>“Same to you, Mr. Malfoy.” Hermione managed to politely respond before he walked out of her office. She fell back into her chair, her mind going a million miles a minute as she went over her previous walk in the forest during the last full moon. Retracing every single step, trying to identify who could have been tailing her. She was going to have to take more steps to keep this hidden going forward. </p><p> </p><p>Harper’s head poked in through the office door, startling Hermione. “Hermione, Miss Lovegood is here to see you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right, please see her in.” Hermione fixed a couple of unstraightened items on her desk, taking a deep breath to calm her inner thoughts before Luna stepped through the door. She smiled at the woman before her, her child-like innocence was replaced with more finesse that suited the young woman before her. Blonde hair spilled over her shoulders, the tips floating against her waist. Blue-grey eyes still sparkled with wonder as she held several files to her petite frame. </p><p> </p><p>“Is something troubling you Hermione? I can come back another time.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing to worry yourself over, Luna. What is it I can do for you.”</p><p> </p><p>“As I am sure you’re aware, Mrs. Dixon sent me out into the field to gather some numbers and intel on certain groups of magical beasts.” Luna handed Hermione a tan folder to review. Hermione took a moment to flip through the papers, reading as quickly as her eyes would allow. She frowned as she looked back up at Luna. </p><p> </p><p>“Luna these numbers are certainly strange but not completely out of the normal, certainly Mrs. Dixon commented on that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, she isn’t as worried as I am about these numbers. I also happened across Mr. Krum on my travels and he gave me this.” Luna handed Hermione a black folder this time, which she tentatively opened. Her stomach rolled as she took in the pictures in the folder.</p><p> </p><p>“This, this is awful.” Hermione’s hand covered her mouth as she stared at the images before her. </p><p> </p><p>“I know this is slightly out of your element but will you assist magical beasts, Krum, and myself with this?” Hermione looked back up at Luna, certain that she wouldn’t be able to turn down Luna’s request. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Previously:<br/> “Yes, she isn’t as worried as I am about said numbers. I also happened across Mr. Krum on my travels and he gave me this.” Luna handed Hermione a black folder this time, which she tentatively opened. </p><p>“This, this is awful.” Hermione’s hand covered her mouth as she stared at the images before her. </p><p>“I know this is slightly out of your element but will you assist magical beasts, Krum, and myself with this?” Hermione looked back up at Luna, certain that she wouldn’t be able to turn down Luna’s request.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks again to Cresentmoonmadness who is going to beta my entire story! She has brought a lot of value and insight into my writing and I am hopeful we will make this story a huge success</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hermione continued to look over the two file folders well after Luna had left her office later that afternoon. Magical beasts dying was part of nature and part of humans encroaching on their territories. However, these numbers, in such a short span of time, were concerning at best but the pictures. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Those</span>
  </em>
  <span> had pulled at her heart. Seeing several images of XXXX and XXXXX classified beasts being gutted and dismembered was all kinds of wrong. Generally, this would lead to some kind of ritualistic tendencies that should be investigated, but nothing seemed to be missing from the creatures. Perhaps it was random hate crimes? There were too many possibilities with too little information.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Krum’s report had been quite detailed. It was still a shock to her that he had bumped into Luna while trying to find his answers as to why one of his prized drake’s was dead. There was a write up on everything leading up to the time the drake had been found dead. Hermione was surprised to find that the Krum family had decided to purchase breeding rights to Chinese Fireball dragons shortly after the Tri-Wizard tournament had ended. Flipping through the report she made some notes along the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had three roosts of hatchlings since they started the program, which was quite successful considering the semantics when breeding drakes and draikas. The Krum’s were waiting on their fourth roost to hatch now, but there had been some complications with the draika wanting to stay at the roost after her mate was killed. Hermione had done a lot of research on dragons when Harry had to fight one their fourth year but she hadn’t gone over the semantics of dragon mates or hatching roosts. The information fascinated her, so she made a note to grab some books on the topic before heading out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dragonologists had decided to isolate the mourning draika from the other adult dragons, whelps, and fledglings until her own hatchlings arrived. The decision helped to calm her down but the depression that had settled in had brought tears to her eyes. The draika was only eating and drinking enough to survive. She was well aware that creatures of higher intelligence could have human tendencies, but it hit harder when she was shown images of such a thing occurring. The hope was that her hatchlings would bring some life back into her, but she hoped it would. There was no guarantee that she’d be able to visit Viktor or see his draconic breeding grounds where his drake had been found, but investigating the rest of the mysterious creature’s deaths would prove quite exhilarating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The minute Hermione opened that black folder she knew was going to help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luna had sat in her office while they tried to figure out the logistics of helping Krum. If this had taken place in Britain, or the surrounding area, then it would be within their roles to investigate. However, this was now an inter-country issue which meant a lot of paperwork and documentation for two Ministry’s to approve. Being the Head of Magical Beast and Creatures Legal Department had its perks, such as going directly to Minister Shacklebolt, former Order member, for approval. Earlier, her papers had been scattered everywhere, books open to random pages, notes hanging in midair - it was a beautiful disaster. She didn’t have entire tables to spread her work over like she did at Hogwarts, so she made due with magically hovering items to make space and organize. Hermione now had all of the information compiled, and it was off to wait on approval from all necessary departments. How long that would take she was unsure, however, she still decided to call it a night, therefore packing up her items.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss Granger! Miss Granger!” A young black haired squib came barreling out of the elevator after her. From Hermione’s understanding, the sixteen-year-old had been raised in the magical world but attended muggle school. Her parents had fallen on some hard times after the war so to help them out she applied to be the mail delivery woman. “I’m sorry to disturb you on your way out Miss, but you have a letter from Hogwarts that just arrived. You must have locked your office up for the night so it came to the main mailroom.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Miss Alpine.” Hermione placed the letter into her purse, smiling at the elegant handwriting. The exuberant young witch was always a pleasure to deal with. She had a positive outlook on life and a smile that was most welcoming. “Have a good night.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You too, Miss Granger.” Hermione watched the young girl skip away as she continued to the apparition point, intent on eating something simple and sitting in her tub surrounded by lavender bubbles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt the telltale pull at her belly-button as </span>
  <span>everything went grey, walls pressing against her. Holding her breath, it felt like bands strapping her in, her eardrums roaring with white noise. The effects of traveling this way had lessened over the years, but it still felt unnatural to some degree. It certainly wasn’t comfortable, yet it was most effective.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione had bought herself a small house with her proceeds from her help in the war. Trying to not accept anything at all had been a moot point as the funds were directly deposited into her Gringotts account. With her mind made up, she donated a third of the money to two different charities of her choosing. Some money went towards MNPZ Home for Children which was building a new home for children who lost their parents in the war. The other portion went to Scamander's Magical Creature Betterment Organization which was assisting magical creatures rehabilitation.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The last bit she used for herself to find a quaint home far enough away from the Ministry, but still in the Wizarding World, and close enough to Muggle London. The twelve hundred square foot house had a  modern muggle look to it but was spacious enough for Hermione to have company. Plus, she was able to turn the garage into a laboratory where she could tinker away. The basement suite was occupied by Ginny, not that she was there very often. Between the Harpies, visiting her family, and having sleepovers with Hermione, despite the fact that they lived in the same house, the woman was rarely alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione unlocked the door, hanging her jacket up, and placed her shoes on the rubber mat as she walked into the open-concept style kitchen and living room. Ginny was off to a Quidditch match which left her and Crookshanks alone in the house. Hermione heard a thud as her cat sauntered over to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Were you sleeping on Ginny’s bed again? You know how she hates it when you do that, cat fur everywhere.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Rrrrow.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I am aware that she loves cuddling you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mhrn-a’ou!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will feed you, hold your whiskers.” Hermione uncharmed the cabinet that kept all Crookshanks treats, food, and extra toys in it. Her furry hellion had decided to become a glutton in his old age and as a result, she had to keep it charmed shut so he couldn’t go and binge. She bent down to place the kibble in the dish, placing the food back into the cupboard, but her orange tabby sat there, tail swishing several times.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maou?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Crooksy.” Hermione ran her hand from his head to the tip of his tail three times as he purred before settling down to eat. “Spoiled little lion.” She smiled and watched him eat with adoration for a moment before opening the fridge. She pulled out the ingredients to make an omelet. Between her late lunch and the photographs that Luna had shared, she wasn’t very hungry. Supper was a quiet affair as she opted to eat and clean up without any background music tonight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mhrouw.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The feline pawed at the blue card that was sitting in her purse before running off to the couch, curling up into an orange ball of fuzz to sleep. Hermione looked over the envelope, grabbing it from its resting place. She contemplated the Hogwarts crest, remembering the first time she had seen it on a similar envelope when she was eleven. The return address was signed from the desk of Headmistress McGonagall, which was enough to make her stomach twist with anticipation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She opened the crisp, blue paper to pull out a small piece of parchment, carefully reading the contents of the Headmistress’s letter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How odd that McGonagall would have a letter addressed to her at Hogwarts. It clearly wasn’t a pressing concern to pick up the letter, but it was rather odd that it didn’t come to her work or home. At one point in time, there were rumors that Hermione was going to be the new Transfiguration Professor. That had stemmed from her filling in for McGonagall for a week while the new Professor transferred over. McGonagall had offered the position to Hermione, who had declined after weighing the options. Shaping the next generation of young witches and wizards had its appeal. Ultimately, she had decided she would rather shape a </span>
  <em>
    <span>world </span>
  </em>
  <span>that served the betterment of what young witches and wizards could live peacefully in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione filed the letter in her office, writing a quick reply to her mentor to send with an owl when she returned to the Ministry in the morning and headed to her ensuite to fill the tub with water. She was happy this home had some modern conveniences like plumbing, heating, electricity, and wifi as it felt more like her childhood home. Uncorking the lid from her favourite bottle of thyme lavender bubble bath, she poured a generous amount near the spout of the tub. She exited the bathroom to disrobe, placing her dirty clothes into the hamper, and selected her nightclothes. An oversized black t-shirt and black cotton shorts looked extremely comfy to her, taking them with her as she headed back to the bathroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The relaxing smell permeated the air causing Hermione to pause, inhaling several deep breaths immediately relaxing some of the tension in her body. Grabbing a scrunchie she put her untamed curls atop her head in a messy bun to save it from getting wet. Hermione dipped her big toe into the bubbly water, ensuring it was the right temperature before she fully emerged herself. Taking a deep breath through her nose and exhaling out her mouth allowed her to release the frustrations of the day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her mind wandered through images of the past few days. As she started to go deeper into the past, her mind stopped on certain moments. Her eighth year at Hogwarts where she had roomed with Pansy, Luna, and Ginny and her relationship with Ron during that time. How many times had she run to the girls in tears because of something inconsiderate Ron had said? How many times had Harry been forced to play the middle-man while they argued? How many times did she have to be denied sex because Ron refused to be with her?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was after an errant thought that Blaise had mentioned to her one drunken night that had her seeing Malfoy in a different light. No, he hadn’t been allowed to return to Hogwarts for his eighth year due to his two-year sentence in Azkaban, but the seed had been planted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Granger,” Blaise had slung an arm around her shoulders as he took another long drink of firewhiskey. “You can’t tell me that the Brightest Witch of Our Age wasn’t aware that Malfoy fancied you throughout school. Don’t get me wrong, he was a fuckin’ menace towards you, but if you only knew about all the things he did to protect you. Nott!” he had shouted, his attention stolen from her. “You wanker! You owe me ten galleons from yesterday’s bet!” Hermione had watched him storm off as if Blaise hadn’t just turned her entire world on its axis.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pansy had been rather tight-lipped about everything to do with Malfoy after her initial inquiry. Had steered the questions to a different topic EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It was maddening. Even now, Pansy rarely brought up Malfoy unless it was to brag about the size of his cock. Honestly, the woman had no shame. It hadn’t stopped her mind from going over every interaction and altercation she had with the Malfoy heir. Not that she could come up with anything. Even now, she was missing puzzle pieces. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only piece that fit together was how sinfully attractive Malfoy was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the longest time, she had convinced herself that it was the way he was portrayed in the tabloids. How they had dressed him, posed him, made him look delectable. For months she had pushed aside her attraction to him until one morning it became unavoidable. She had been having a shit day. Her hair wouldn’t cooperate, she was late for work, she had forgotten her lunch at home, and to top it off she had spilled coffee on documents that were to be reviewed. She had been walking to the loo when her heel broke and had sent her careening to one side. Hermione hadn’t even attempted to catch herself or anything she was holding. Falling to the floor seemed poetic after everything else she’d endured. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then her knight in a black suit with platinum blonde hair was there, grabbing her by her arm and then her waist. Smirking at her, he righted her and fixed her heel with the flick of his wand. Even in three-inch heels she barely came up to his shoulder. He inquired about her health, which she assured him was fine before he bid her good day and walked off. That was the first time she had stared at his arse, admitting to herself that she found the man attractive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their interactions from there on out only lasted a few minutes here and there, usually in a crowd of people in common spaces at work. It was enough for her to go from finding the man fit to having him star in several of her sexual fantasies. She still had very little insight into what had occurred in his personal life, but he was never rude to her, hadn’t been since his release from Azkaban.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His cock is huge, Granger. Should I share one of my memories of it with you? Perhaps we can see what kinds of kink you’re into?” Pansy would tease her, grinning like the Cheshire cat. Hermione groaned, sinking further into the bubbly water so that only her nose up was showing. Hiding her attraction to Malfoy from Pansy was like hiding a piece of fabric in a warehouse, eventually Pansy would find it. And find it she did, teasing her mercilessly ever since. She couldn’t deny she was curious but she’d never invade Malfoy’s privacy by watching a memory of him fucking Pansy, or with his cock in her mouth. No, she fantasized about it but would never act. After all, Malfoy could never be attracted to a swotty witch like her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It didn’t stop her hand from traveling down to the apex of her thighs, though. She imagined what it would be like to have his fingers draw lazy circles around her clit, nibbling on her neck while slightly pinching a nipple. Having her back pressed against his chest, feeling his hard cock against her arse as his finger dipped into her wet folds. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mhrn-a’ou!</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione bolted up, sloshing water onto the bathroom floor, as Crookshank called to her from the door. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mhrn-a’ou, a’ou</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it, Crooksy?” slightly winded from the start of her activities. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione! Oh, well now I know why this helion was so keen to keep me from your bedroom.” Pansy dusted off imaginary dust from the white blouse that was tucked into charcoal grey dress pants with a matching blazer and black stiletto heels. She looked like she was on a power trip, readying to roll some heads. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pansy? What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have some meetings tomorrow so I figured I’d crash in your spare room tonight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You could have at least sent an Owl, Pansy,” sighed Hermione as she rubbed a temple.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you being so cross with me? It’s not like I interrupted anything important . . . or maybe I did?” A lecherous smirk appeared on Pansy’s poppy red lips. “Do you need a couple of minutes to finish, Granger?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t bother. The mood is shot now,” Hermione grumbled, standing up as Pansy tossed a towel to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I brought wine from France, perhaps I should pour us a glass?” sniggered the Slytherin, wiggling her fingers at Hermione as she turned to leave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s the least you can do,” muttered the frazzled brunette as she started drying herself off on the grey fuzzy towel. She threw on the nightwear she had grabbed earlier, hastily putting it on so she could join Pansy in the kitchen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She paused in the doorway as Pansy spelled the wine to pour itself. Her short bob had grown to just past her shoulders with bangs that framed her olive-toned skin. Her makeup looked like it was professionally done, but she knew Pansy had a knack for everything feminine. She was clad in black leggings with a royal blue jumper, comfy but classy. Her manicured hand waved in Hermione’s direction as a glass of red wine made her way to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione grabbed the glass from the air and tipped it to her nose, sniffing delicately at the bouquet, humming softly. “Smells amazing, Pansy. What vintage is this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“1993 Henri Jay Cros. Dark berries, spices, black truffles matured to perfection.” Pansy delicately swirled her glass before taking a sip, sighing in satisfaction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And how much did this bottle cost you?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A lady never reveals her secrets. Who was starring in your late-night session while Finding Nemo?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A lady never tells,” Hermione smirked into her wine glass as Pansy raised a delicate eyebrow. “And I never should have introduced you to Disney. You’ve ruined most movies for me now.” It had been over Christmas break and the girls had all flocked to Hermione’s house in muggle London, as she had decided to keep it for sentimental reasons after the second war. They wanted to watch muggle princess movies that Hermione had raved about, so with their snacks in hand, they settled in for the night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The eldest Gryffindor had chosen to go with a classic, The Lion King. Great music and songs, the storyline was superb, and there was a character each one of them could relate to. Things were going great as they just started the scene where Nala meets an adult Simba. They tumbled down the hill, the girls were swooning over how sweet it was then Parkinson opened her mouth. “Look at the sex eyes she is throwing Simba! Talk about being a lioness between the sheets. You get that D girl!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione has yet to be able to watch this scene without Pansy’s voice echoing those words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have a corrupt mind, what can I say? It’s so easy to twist those titles, or at least the way they leave adult innuendos everywhere makes it a thousand times easier.” Pansy set her glass down on the counter, eyes fixed on Hermione. “I rarely miss anything, as you well know, so why don’t we chat about a certain steel grey-eyed man who frequents your imagination.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s nothing to tell, Pansy,” huffed Hermione, refusing to give the Slytherin any more ammo on who she may or </span>
  <em>
    <span>may not</span>
  </em>
  <span> be crushing on. “He </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> attractive and we both work at the Ministry, end of story.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, just that you want to take his broomstick for a couple of laps around the Quidditch pitch.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!” Hermione watched as Pansy threw her head back in laughter, feeling her cheeks brighten to a deep red. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tell me I’m wrong, Granger. Tell me that you don’t want to throw your legs on either side of his trim hips, hands running up and down his well-defined abs, as you slide down onto his large cock. Tell me I’m wrong.” Hermione turned her eyes away from Pansy, losing the brief staring match. “You two are bloody idiots.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve been over this before, Pansy. Malfoy will </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> see me like that and I’m not looking for anything from him.” She could admit to herself she found the man attractive, but saying it aloud seemed taboo. Why she didn’t know but she had no intention of figuring it out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Pansy said, her tone saturated in disbelief, “so you don’t want his tongue in that pretty little cunt of yours then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pansy Penelope Parkinson! Must you be so crude!” Pansy shrugged her shoulders as she finished her glass, helping herself to another.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re a beautiful, kinky woman, Hermione. What better way to express that than having the Dragon tie you up and fuck you seven ways to Sunday?” Hermione groaned, smacking her head on the counter to try to drown Pansy out with the dull ache forming in her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You need a good lay, so let Malfoy pull out his wonderfully wicked box of toys and get dicked down.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that what you’re doing with Harry? Getting dicked down?” Pansy was quiet, which meant Hermione had stumbled upon something. “Is one of your appointments tomorrow a dick date with my best friend?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not exactly,” Pansy stated, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Harry and I are meeting for lunch. Nothing more, nothing less.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to hear about my best friend’s dick under any circumstances, you hear me?” Hermione huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No promises, Granger,” Pansy simpered, her eyes glinting wickedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are we friends again?” Hermione helped herself to a second class of wine, filling it up to almost the rim. She might not be able to afford such luxuries but being friends with one who could had its perks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because I balance you out, Granger. I’m the voice in your head that you refuse to speak aloud, your daring nature, the riské side. At least until we can awaken your sexual goddess and we know just the Dragon to do so.” Pansy waggled her eyebrows as both women broke out in peels of laughter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What would it cost me for you to forget about that drunken girl’s night a couple of years ago?” Hermione jokingly pleaded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My price is too damn high. Besides, it’s one of the few things I can tease you about mercilessly. You should be thankful that Loonie and Ginger passed out before that conversation happened.” They had been celebrating Hermione’s house purchase with several bottles of wine, pillows, and blankets strewn all over the living room floor while drinking wine out of coffee cups. Possession of the property was six that evening so with everything in boxes the ladies had come prepared to christen the house with a drunken girl’s night. Luna had been the first to crash, followed shortly after by Ginny, leaving the two dark-haired women alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione was two sheets to the wind when Pansy inquired about her ideal man. She had gone off on a tangent about how he would need to have serious intellectual prowess while still being able to make her laugh. Someone who actively supported her current career and the advances she wanted to make. He would put in some effort with her family and friends, not all the time but being on her arm for an occasional mixer would be lovely. A man around her age, tall and broad with a strong chin but no facial hair. A man that would make her feel tiny and safe while shagging her every day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pansy had tried to make some assumptions and insinuations about her dream man, but thankfully, Hermione had fallen asleep on her bed of pillows. Did it stop Pansy from harassing her at every chance about what she was into? No. Did she inquire about her sex life every time they got together? Yes. Was she constantly pushing her buttons about sex with Malfoy? Absolutely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, as nice as this little chat has been I should head to bed as I have a seven am breakfast with a client.” Pansy set her glass in the sink before placing a chaste kiss on Hermione’s cheek, walking into the spare bedroom. Hermione finished the rest of her wine, setting her glass with the other, and made her way to bed. Once under the covers, Crookshank jumped on top of the bed, curling into the bend of her knees. Sighing in content, Hermione fell into a dreamless sleep.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Please drop a comment if you have thoughts on the chapter, hit the kudos button if you enjoy where this is going, and subscribe for notifications on chapter updates.<br/>I am going to be updating every Sunday (Canadian time) so that people can start their week off on, hopefully, a good note</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Previously: <br/>“Well, as nice as this little chat has been I should head to bed as I have a seven am breakfast with a client.” Pansy set her glass in the sink before placing a chaste kiss on Hermione’s cheek and walking into the spare bedroom. Hermione finished the rest of her wine, setting her glass with the other, and made her way to bed. Once under the covers, Crookshank jumped on top of the bed, curling into the bend of her knees. Sighing in content Hermione fell into a dreamless sleep.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione’s day had gone by in a blur. Her entire morning was spent in meetings while her afternoon was consumed handling whatever files she needed to review on her desk. When she looked at the time she realized it was almost six, her stomach growled its annoyance at her. She only then realized that she had missed lunch. She started to pack up her items when a blueish-white glow caught her eye. Standing before her was a flamingo patronus.</p><p>“I’ve let myself into your house, Granger, and plan on staying another night. Don’t give me lip about barging in, considering you were the one to allow me access in the first place. I have more wine and it’s Friday, so get your sexy arse home, pronto.” Hermione smiled, shaking her head at the woman’s antics. Opening her door she ran into a rather solid, but soft, figure.</p><p>“Miss Granger, sorry to bump into you like that.”</p><p>“Minister Shacklebolt,” brown eyes widened as she realized who she walked into. “I’m terribly sorry. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence this  evening?”</p><p>“Good evening, Granger. The approval for you and Miss Lovegood has returned. The two of you will leave tomorrow at ten am sharp from this location.” Shacklebolt handed her a green folder with the details of the meeting point and the portkey. “I have already owled Miss Lovegood the same dossier. The information for this investigation is outlined in those documents.” Hermione quirked her head to the side, furrowing her brow in confusion. </p><p>“Minister, not that I am complaining, but it’s only been twenty-four hours since I sent this off to you. I’m curious to know why this was approved so quickly. Normally we’d be waiting a couple of weeks for an inter-country work order approval.” Hermione accepted the papers, making a mental note to stop by the bookstore on her way home tonight for books on magical creatures. She was going to need material to help with her research.</p><p>“Two reasons, really,” Shacklebolt smiled brightly at her. “One, your name still generates a great deal of interest, even in other countries. They all want a chance to work with the Brightest Witch of Our Age.” Hermione bit her tongue. She hated that was still one of her identifiers today. She couldn’t possibly be the only smart witch in the entire magical world. </p><p>“Secondly, you have a friend in high places. I had originally approved you and Miss Lovegood to investigate the lower ranking creatures death tolls. However, a certain Durmstang Alumni has managed to get approval for you to look into the death of his dragon.” The Minister tugged at his tie, seeming a bit nervous. “I wanted to send the two of you with a couple of Aurors, due to the fact that Western Russia is a war-torn country.”</p><p>“Minister, while I appreciate the sentiment, Luna and I do not need any men to protect us from the world. I passed the Aurors exam, just like Harry and Ron did,” Hermione had performed well for her written and practical exams, but after listening to Ron whine about how they would never have a moment's peace from one another if she stole his dream career from him, well, that was more than enough. Said day also marked the point in their relationship when things slowly started to unravel. </p><p>“I’m still considering it.” Kingsley put his hand up to halt Hermione from going off on another tangent. “It’s not because I think you’re unable to defend yourselves, Hermione. It has more to do with the fact that a large amount of Death Eaters fled to Russia. As you are well aware, plenty of the Dark Lord’s followers were former Durmstrang students from pureblood families, ones far more strict in their ways than they were here.” She mulled his words over, knowing that he wasn’t wrong.</p><p>“What if the Aurors accompanied us to the drop-off spot? They can ensure we are meeting those who are listed and then we can continue on our way.” She didn’t want Aurors accompanying them because it would only slow them down, and honestly, the dragon in Western Russia wasn’t their top priority. Even if Viktor had ascertained that they were now the first stop. Who was going to chase two witches across several countries while investigating X or XX creatures? No one.</p><p>“Alright Hermione, you have yourself an agreement. Two senior Aurors will meet you at the portkey site to accompany you. Once everything is in order, they will return. You are expected to check-in at seven pm every evening and if you don’t the whole of the Aurors office will be sent to your last known location. You understand?” Hermione wanted to roll her eyes in annoyance but knew better than to do so in front of the Minister of Magic.</p><p>“Of course, Kingsley. Thank you again for allowing us to investigate.”</p><p>“After your report, it would be hard to deny you. Have a good journey and please be safe. Goodnight Hermione.” Hermione watched as Kingsley walked down the corridor, allowing her to continue on her trek home. Merlin, she was ready for that wine that Pansy had waiting for her. </p><p>“Goodnight Kingsley,” she called after him. Hermione inhaled a couple of times to calm herself. It irked her to no end when someone insinuated that because she was a female, she needed a man to protect her. Ha! How many times was it her who was protecting Harry and Ron while at Hogwarts or Horcrux hunting? <br/>That wasn’t to say the boys hadn’t helped her out but the scale was vastly tipped in the direction of her saving them. Turning the corner out of her department sharply, she found herself bumping into something extremely firm, causing her to land on her arse.</p><p>“Again?” she whispered to herself. “How many people are you going to bump into today?”</p><p>“I don’t know, Granger, you tell me? What has you so rattled you’d bump into a stranger?” Liquid fire settled in her bones as the smooth voice washed over her. She looked up into amused pewter eyes as a large, rough hand extended to her. She felt a zap of electricity as she placed her much smaller hand in his own, barely looking up to see if he felt it or not.</p><p>“Thank you, Malfoy.” Hermione coughed, trying desperately not to sound as breathless as thought she did. </p><p>“You alright, Granger? You seem a bit . . . out of sorts.” His eyes were searching her, almost as if he was concerned about her well-being. She felt a bit in awe that he was asking her, but it did make her feel slightly warm and tingly. </p><p>“Just in a hurry to get home, Malfoy. Pansy is waiting for me.” That was a safe cover-up and it was true, mostly.</p><p>“Parkinson did mention that she was staying in town tonight, but was remiss to tell me exactly where. I won’t keep her waiting. Heaven forbid she found out I was the one who held you up, I’d never hear the end of it.”</p><p>“Me either,” whispering to herself before smiling up at the blonde. “Have a good evening, Malfoy.”</p><p>“You too, Granger.” Hermione watched as his black cloak swished around his body as he left. He looked utterly amazing in black but she often wondered what he’d look like in other colors. Now was not the time to be imaging such things, especially with Pansy waiting at her place. </p><p>Straightening her shoulders, she marched off towards the apparition point, taking the few minutes to collect herself before facing the Viper of Slytherin. Hermione still had no idea how Pansy had come to earn that nickname, but she definitely preened whenever someone called her it.</p><p>When she opened the door to her house, she wasn’t expecting the scene before her.</p><p>There sat her friend, on her leather couch, screeching at someone in French over her cell phone with Crookshanks draped around her shoulders. Hands were animatedly going in every direction as her half kneazle purred loudly from his perch. The poor muggle on the other end was certainly getting an earful, she wondered what the poor soul did to cause Pansy to get so riled up. Pansy aggressively hit the red end button, launching her phone across the room to implant itself into the wall. The cell phone was still new for Pansy, after all, she couldn’t wand-dial her muggle employees and clients. They had spent an hour going over the basics of how to operate it.</p><p>“You’re fixing that,” Hermione smiled as she finished hanging her jacket up. “Are you going to tell me what that was all about?”</p><p>“They ordered the wrong bloody silks for the dresses, Hermione. The show is happening in six weeks, and I have the wrong fucking colored silks!” Pansy dramatically threw an arm over her eyes, further using Crookshanks as a pillow. </p><p>Prrr’ow.</p><p>“Wrong colors as in the wrong shade or . . .”</p><p>“NO! As in I asked for midnight blue and I was sent golden yellow. How is that even possible! This silk has been back-ordered for months. MONTHS!”  </p><p>“Can you magically change the color?” Hermione inquired, hoping for an easy fix and to calm the raging woman down.</p><p>“Of course,” Pansy crossed her legs, tugging the skirt down so as to not expose as much thigh. “However, it’s the principle of the matter, Granger. Someone fucked up and they’re going to hear about it.”</p><p>“Alright, how about I get started on something for us to eat?”</p><p>“No need, Granger. I have plans with Potter tonight.” Pansy delicately stood up, the cat never leaving its spot as she waltzed across the room to pour herself half a glass of white wine. “Domaine Leflaive Batard Montrachet, an excellent vintage that also carries a note of lemon and a hint of hazelnut.”</p><p>“Is Harry using the floo or coming to the door?” Hermione inquired, pouring herself a glass of wine as well. If her friend wanted to plie her with expensive wines from her worldwide travels in order to spend a night in her spare room, she’d never say no. </p><p>“Gentlemen use the door when picking up a lady for a date. Floo is for angsty teenagers who can’t keep it in their pants long enough to get their girl off even once.” Hermione spluttered, wine going all over Pansy’s face and shirt. She should know better by now than to have a mouth full of wine when she was around.</p><p>“Honestly, Granger,” Pansy flicked her wand to remove the wet spots from her clothing. “You’ll never get a man that way. Swallow, don’t spit as that’s just rude.” Smugly, the short-haired woman cast a glance at Hermione, who was tomato red. </p><p>“Thank Merlin,” Hermione declared as the doorbell rang, hoping it was Harry to take away her horrible friend. “How are you this evening Harry?”</p><p>“I’m great, thanks for asking. Is Pansy here?” Harry’s hands were in the pockets of his jacket, clearing fidgeting if the movement of his pocket was anything to go by. </p><p>“Coming, Harry!” Pansy slung her jacket over her arm, tucking her wallet under her arm. “Ready to go?”</p><p>“Pansy? Aren’t you forgetting something?” A large smile formed as he looked between the two women. “I don’t think Crookshanks would enjoy the restaurant as much as you.”</p><p>“Oh, OH! I am terribly sorry,” Pansy bent at the knee so Hermione could gently pry the large orange tabby from its resting spot. “Don’t wait up for me, Granger.” Pansy looped her arm through Harry’s, closing the door behind her as they left. </p><p>“Ginny is going to be awfully jealous if she finds out you made a new best friend.” Crookshanks licked her jaw, making her heart melt, before wiggling to be put down. She placed him on the couch, looking up at the clock to realize it was just after seven. </p><p>“Oh shit! The bookstore!” Hermione flew around the house gathering her purse, jacket, shoes, and book bag before scurrying out the door. She couldn’t believe that Malfoy had gotten under her skin so much that she had forgotten she needed books for research while they were out and about. She apparated in haste, as to make it to the store before they closed at eight.</p><p>Flourish and Blotts was a quaint bookshop on the North Side of Diagon Alley, about halfway down the street on the left-hand side. This was her home away from home as she had spent countless hours over the years combing through the numerous bookshelves. Shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones, bound in all sorts of materials; books ranging in size from a postage stamp to a tombstone; full of unique symbols and a few with texts that were hidden from the world, waiting to be revealed. </p><p>“Good evening, Miss Granger.” Hermione smiled at the short, stout man that had wisps of gray hair standing on end in every direction. </p><p>“Hello, Mr. Williamson. How are you tonight?” He had been working the evening shift at the bookstore since she started at the Ministry. </p><p>“Fine, thank you. I was beginning to worry, after all, it has almost been two weeks since your last visit.” They laughed at his joke because he wasn’t wrong. She was usually in the store once a week to pick up a book she had ordered or browse the shelves. </p><p>“I’m heading out tomorrow on an investigation and need some additional supplies, so don’t expect me a couple of weeks.” She didn’t want to divulge too much about where she was off too, but she also didn’t want the poor man to worry.</p><p>“Thank you, Miss Granger. Now,” the petite wizard raised his wand, “what can I help you find?” </p><p>“Magical beasts with any X to XXX classifications; their characteristics, health, history, distribution, and habitat, and behavior and ecology, please. Oh, as well as something on dragon breeding and raising a hatchling.” Hermione watched in awe as Mr. Williamson weaved several spells and books started levitating off the shelves. She had never seen him use spells to call for books before. Usually, she would browse for her own books, but she didn’t have that kind of time tonight. A certain blonde-haired Slytherin had seen to that, not that he knew her agenda for the evening, or even cared.</p><p>“Miss Granger, I have placed nearly a dozen books on the table in aisle four, if you would like to take a look.” Mr. Williamson lowered his wand as the door’s chime went off. “I’ll leave you to it for now, then.”</p><p>“Thank you.” Hermione made her way over to the aisle where her stack of books were waiting for her. The first thing she did when opening the book was to find the author and what accreditations they had. It would be no use to her to purchase a book that wasn’t going to give her the proper information. She set four books off to the side immediately, as they were going to be no help to her. She thumbed through the remaining seven books before deciding to purchase three of them, making note of two others in case she was in need of more information. </p><p>“All ready to go, Miss Granger?” The older gentleman inquired from his chair behind the till. “Would you like these charged to your account?”</p><p>“Yes, but to my Ministry account, please.” Hermione materialized a quill, signing her name on the bottom of the order parchment.</p><p>“Have a good night and stay safe on your trip, you hear?” Mr. Williamson smiled kindly at Hermione as he placed the books into her bag.</p><p>“I will, and thank you for everything. Have a good evening.” Smiling, she left the store to apparate home to prepare. Hermione was excited about the prospect to do some research, gain some new knowledge, and make notes. Which was great as she was hesitant for them to find some actual concrete evidence to support Luna’s hypothesis. Regardless, it needed to be explored in greater detail. </p><p>She greeted Crookshanks as she normally did upon arriving home then headed off to her room to retrieve her burgundy, beaded handbag. She hadn’t had to use it since they were Horcrux hunting but she wanted to be as prepared as she could. </p><p>“Accio, list of contents.” A piece of parchment flew out of the bag and into her hand. She carefully went over the items while spelling a quill to write a second list that she’d need to add. Since they were going to visit Viktor first, there was no need to purchase food for camping, yet. She wasn’t entirely sure where they were staying. The documents Kingsley had left with her said that the Bulgarians were taking care of it. </p><p>In all honesty, she was actually a bit nervous to see Viktor again. The last time she had seen him had been six months after her break-up with Ron, which was shortly after their one year anniversary as Ministry employees. Viktor reached out to see if she would like to go for lunch while he was in town and she had immediately said yes. Her lunch hour hadn’t been nearly enough time to catch up so he had invited her on a vacation to Canada for the following month. Five days of skiing in the Rocky Mountains, just the two of them. She had hesitated, but Viktor had given her some time to think about it and respond.</p><p>It had just so happened that Ginny and Pansy were already home when she had arrived at the end of her workday. Two empty bottles of red wine were sitting on the counter as she heard several giggles coming from the living room. She could handle each of the women separately but when they were together it was an entirely different story.</p><p>“Granger! You’re home.” A tipsy Pansy had called out from her place on the couch. “How was your lunch date with Viktor?”</p><p>“You had a date with Krum and didn’t tell me?” Ginny pouted, setting her glass down on the coffee table. “It was a spur of the moment thing. How did you even know about it, Pansy?”</p><p>“Eyes and ears everywhere, I’m afraid. Do tell us what the hunk of a man wanted.” Pansy licked her lips, leaning forward to listen intently.</p><p>“It wasn’t much of anything,” Hermione rolled her eyes as she grabbed a wine glass from the cupboard. “Are there any more bottles from Pansy or do we have to break into my mediocre wine?”</p><p>“Two more in my room. I’ll get them.” Pansy whipped out her wand, unsteadily casting her spell for the dark bottles to float into the kitchen. “Now, tell us all the juicy tidbits. Did your feet touch under the table or perhaps you both reached for the salt shaker at the same time, fingers grazing one another.” Ginny fell back on the couch as laughter shook her entire frame while Pansy was gracefully holding it together, but not by much. </p><p>“It was idle chit chat. Can’t exactly get into great details over an hour lunch break.” Hermione took a long taste of her wine, noting the smoky aftertaste. </p><p>“Oh? So when will you be going over the other details?” Ginny smirked, getting up to walk over to where Hermione was standing. Curse her for picking up on Pansy’s Slytherin ways from eighth year at Hogwarts. </p><p>“He . . . well, he invited me to spend some time with him next month.” She really didn’t want to go into too many details with the girls, otherwise, they’d get carried away.</p><p>“I’d definitely let him sample from the honey pot, Granger. It’s been a while since you last got laid. Hasn’t it?” Leave it to Pansy to always bring it back to sex.</p><p>“Clearly my massive idiot of a brother wasn’t doing it for you, so why not go another round with Krum?” Ginny’s index finger rimmed the wine glass as she spoke. </p><p>“Another round? When the hell was the first round?” Pansy shot up, marching over to the two Gryffindors. </p><p>“Hermione took a trip out to see Krum over summer break during fourth and fifth year. Spent several weeks getting their jollies off, I imagine.” Ginny took a sip of wine, sparkling eyes never leaving Hermione’s glaring ones.</p><p>“Alright, fine.” Hermione threw her hands up, caving to the two women. “We had sex several times. It was sweet, slow, and passionate.” Hermione recalled without getting into any actual details.</p><p>“Sounds boring if you ask me,” Pansy shrugged her shoulder as she topped up her glass. “Did you do it anywhere other than a bed? Any other positions besides missionary and cowgirl?”</p><p>“Well . . . no, I suppose we didn’t.” Hermione hummed in thought. “Granted, Ron only did a handful more positions and only in the bed as well. Maybe Viktor has some new knowledge, though?” </p><p>“Doubtful. He might be easy on the eyes and a killer Quidditch player but he’ll always be vanilla in the sack.” Pansy looked to Ginny for confirmation who was nodding along. </p><p>Hermione had ignored their poking fun at her expense and went to Canada to spend five days with Viktor. She came home to realize the girls had been right. Yes, he had gained some new talents with his fingers and tongue, but it was still in bed with the same handful of positions she had grown used to in her bleak sex life. </p><p>She had remained friends with Krum, had written to him once a month still, but ultimately told him the long-distance relationship wasn’t going to work for her. It was amicable on his end as well. However, it had started her on a journey of research for less traditional sex. She picked up a couple of books here and there, but there wasn’t much on the topic in the wizarding world. She went to the muggle world, instead, and oh my did some authors have colorful minds. </p><p>To this day Hermione had yet to meet anyone to try her fantasies out with, but she was hopeful that the man was out there. </p><p>Looking up at the black and white clock on the wall she startled as she realized it was almost nine. She figured she should probably eat something then head to bed as she was going to want to be up early to shower, go over her list of packed items again, and get to the designated meeting spot. She grabbed some granola and a bowl from the cupboard, raspberry yogurt and raspberries from the fridge, and a spoon from the drawer. </p><p>Her mind wandered to the last time with Krum, and while it wasn’t awful it wasn’t spectacular either. He got the job done once and that was all he needed to do, in his eyes she was sure. Hermione had a couple of one-night stands every three or so months so that the itch was scratched Lately, she had been going to her own toy collection though as it was more reliable than most men she’d been with. Once finished her snack she cleaned her dishes, put them away, and headed to the bathroom to start her nightly routine.</p><p>Tossing her hair on top of her head she grabbed a pink, yellow, and white headband from the drawer to push all the wispy fine hairs away from her face. She grabbed the gray face cloth, wet it under the water, and gently scrubbed her face. The lilac bottle of cleanser was applied next then promptly washed off. She let her skin air dry for a few minutes before putting on her moisturizer. Hermione found comfort in her nightly routine, oftentimes letting her mind slow as it let other thoughts meander in. Such as; would Malfoy be a gentle caring lover or a hard and dirty one?</p><p>Her hand froze as she was about to apply lotion to her nose. She had imagined him in her fantasies, a couple of times, but had never given thought to what his preferences would be like. Maybe he had a foot fetish or perhaps he liked the lights off. She shook her head before stripping off the rest of her clothes she pulled on a cream colored crew next shirt and dark brown flannel shorts. She’d already decided that there was less than a one percent chance he’d like her, sexually or not. The door creaked open as Crookshank made his way into her room and onto her bed, waiting patiently for Hermione to settle in.</p><p>“Goodnight, Crooksy.” Hermione absentmindedly stroked his long soft hair, lulling both of them to sleep. </p><p>*****</p><p>She groaned, as her alarm went off. Silencing the annoying sound, she tossed back her comforter covers, shivering a bit in the coolness of the morning. Her feet hit the floor, stretching her hands over her head, arching her back a bit before getting up to head to the bathroom. Hermione grabbed the cloth from the rack, letting the water warm before placing it underneath, sighing when the warm cloth was placed on her face. Looking into the mirror she felt her throat close up, heart hammering in her chest. Her entire body felt as if it was made of lead. No, no, no, no, no. </p><p>“What’s a matter, mudblood, cat got your tongue?” The shrill voice echoed in the small room. “You didn’t think you could wear my meat suit and not take on some of my personalities. Tch, tch, tch. There is darkness in you now, itty whittle girl. Now, why don’t you show me some of that wickedness?” </p><p>“Bella . . . Bellatrix? You can’t be here, you’re dead.” The cloth dropped from Hermione’s now cold hands, making a sopping plop on the floor. </p><p>“You’re me and I’m you. We are one of the same now, you and I. I do look rather fabulous on you though, don’t I?” Bellatrix twirled her wand around her fingers from her place inside the mirror. “We have a lot of work to do, mudblood, starting off with killing those blood traitors you call friends. Can’t bring the Dark Lord back while those who killed him are still alive. Let’s start with that little red-head bitch, the Weasley girl.”</p><p>Hermione felt her body move on its own accord. She was yelling and screaming for Bellatrix to stop, attempting in vain to get her body to not take another step. The door to Ginny’s room opened with a flick of her wrist. A silencing spell was cast over the room as Hermione pulled something from her robes. Looking down she saw the dagger that had killed Dobby in her hand. The silver blade bore an intricate leaf and vine pattern that was attached to a jade handle. A handle that had the Dark Mark carved into it.</p><p>“You’re first kill. Oh, how I’m going to enjoy this enough for the both of us. Pretty soon you won’t even remember your mudblood name.” Bellatrix cackled as the hand grasping the blade raised above her head. “After this kill, you’ll be just. Like Me.”</p><p>Hermione was sobbing uncontrollably from the space she was locked up in within her mind. Rattling the iron bars, screaming and pleading to stop with each step forward. She couldn’t breathe between each sob, couldn’t make herself inhale as she coughed on her own tears. Her hands were bleeding and bruised as she tried to pull the bars open as she stood over Ginny’s unknowing body. Both hands grasped the handle of the dagger, plunging it into her best friend's chest. Blood splattered the walls and her face and clothes while the light-colored comforter red spot slowly started to expand outward.</p><p>“No, no, no, no, NOOOOOO!”</p><p>“Hermione! Hermione! Wake up!” Hermione bolted upright in her bed, tears still streaming down her face as she cried into the bare chest of another. She held onto the warm body as if her life depended on it, not able to make sense of the world. Treacle tart and broomstick polish wafted into her nose, calming her further.</p><p>“I’ve got you, Hermione, shhhh.” The familiar, masculine voice began to rock her back and forth as the events of her nightmare slowly started to ebb. She peeked her head over her shoulder to see Pansy leaning against the doorframe in her silk, violet robe. Her arms were hugging her middle, eyes watery as she bit her lip. Hermione gently pushed against the chest that was holding her.</p><p>“Harry?”</p><p>“Yeah. Night terror?” Harry slowly rubbed his hands up and down her arms in a soothing manner.</p><p>“Yeah. It was about,” her name caught in Hermione’s throat, closing her eyes, and took a deep breath. “It was about Bellatrix. Somehow she had managed to take over my body and wanted me to be just like her. She had me go downstairs and kill . . . Oh my, Merlin! Ginny! We need to make sure she’s okay. Harry, I killed her. I killed Ginny with Bellatrix’s dagger!” </p><p>“Ginny is gone with the Harpies for the next week or two. She isn’t in the house, Hermione,” Harry reassured her, his hands rubbing small circles on her back. Her borderline hysterics petered out as her brain caught up to what Harry was saying. She had a night terror. Ginny wasn’t here. She wasn’t Bellatrix. </p><p>“How long? How long have you been having dreams?” Harry inquired as continued to rub her arms. </p><p>“I haven’t had anything this bad in . . . a long while. I don’t even remember the last time.” Hermione inhaled through her nose, exhaling through her mouth and concentrated on calming her racing pulse. “What time is it?”</p><p>“Almost five. Did you want me to stay?” Harry looked back to Pansy who simply nodded. </p><p>“Well,” Hermione looked at Harry then to Pansy, back to Harry. “Why are you here?” She watched the blush that spread across Harry's cheeks, realization dawning on her. “Oh! Merlin, I am so sorry Pansy. Harry! Why would you offer to stay when your . . . partner is standing there.”</p><p>“My girlfriend doesn’t mind me helping a friend, Hermione.” His gentle smile warmed her heart, even though she felt slightly guilty.</p><p>“Slide over.” Pansy tossed her robe to the side leaving her in a tank top and booty shorts. “Harry, grab her and scoot to the middle.”</p><p>“Pansy, what are you doing?” Hermione was mildly shocked as the witch sat on the edge of her bed.</p><p>“You need Harry and I’m not about to leave you alone either.” The tone in her voice left no room for argument. “Just remember, I’m the biggest, baddest spoon here.” They chuckled as they all gathered into Hermione’s queen bed, and Hermione was thankful to not be alone in it, for once. </p><p>Even though she was calmer, she couldn’t get the image of the dagger in Ginny’s chest out of her mind. Her face became wet as she silently wept, small shudders shaking her frame as Harry held her close to him. It was a dream, she reminded herself. Ginny was alive. Bellatrix was dead. </p><p>She eventually drifted off into a blissfully dreamless sleep. </p><p>***</p><p>When Hermione woke the second time, she was alone again but definitely in brighter spirits than she had been before. She hadn’t dreamt at all, which was a relief, considering. She checked the time, cursing as she made a mad dash for the bathroom. She had fifteen minutes to get to the portkey location so they could head out. Styling her hair into a business-like bun, she brushed her teeth, washed her face, and applied a minuscule amount of make-up. She kept her eyes down, choosing not to look in the mirror. She didn’t want to fall into hysterics right before she had to meet fellow Ministry workers. Grabbing her wand she went about packing the remainder of her items, her pajamas being tossed into the hamper. She grabbed her socks, hopping on one foot to put one on only to fall into the bed.</p><p>Once dressed she grabbed her beaded bag, she ran into the kitchen to see that there was coffee still in the pot and a note on the cupboard.</p><p>Granger, Harry headed to work this morning and I went back to Paris to sort out my clothing color issue. Harry made me swear not to tell anyone about this, as if I would. Clearly, he doesn't know about girl-code. If you need me I am one floo call away. Be safe while you’re away and bring back some delicious stories of our favorite Bulgarian Seeker. </p><p>xoxo P</p><p>She’d smiled down at the letter, reminding herself that she was going to have to figure out a way to thank the two of them. Maybe an uninterrupted night at her house? Wait, why the hell were they at her house anyway? Harry had a perfectly nice place that he shared with Ron so why would the two of them be here? </p><p>Her wand chimed, signalling she had five minutes.</p><p>“Shit!” Grabbing the rest of her items she cast a feeding spell for Crookshank, gave him a  quick pet before heading out the door. She reinforced her charms since she was going to be gone for an undetermined amount of time and apparated away. </p><p>“Hermione!” Luna called from across the small baseball field. “I was beginning to worry that hammering baku had paid a visit to you last night.”</p><p>“A what?” Hermione questioningly looked at the other witch.</p><p>“Hammering baku. They’re an anteater-like beast that devours dreams. I thought that perhaps one ate your dream which would have left you suspended in the dreamscape and that’s why you’re late.”</p><p>“No, Luna. I lost track of time this morning, is all.” Hermione didn’t feel like talking about her night terror with Luna. “Collins. Hamilton. Nice to see you this morning. Shall we?” The four of them stepped up to the bicycle tire, each putting a hand on it as the magic began to flow through the air. Portkey travel was uncomfortable, downright unpleasant for some, and Hermione didn’t fancy the nausea that came after using the portus charm. Some people became exceptionally giddy afterward, while others passed out from sudden movement and magic flowing through them. </p><p>Several groans could be heard, but she kept her eyes closed so she could focus on easing the churning of her stomach. Opening her eyes she blinked twice, trying to collect herself. Collins was bent over, face pinched as he took several deep breaths. Hamilton was relieving himself of the contents of her stomach behind the nearest tree. Luna was giggling while spinning in circles, not really a surprise that she’d be one to get magically high from portkey travel. </p><p>“Hermione.” The Bulgarian accent floated across the clearing. “Nice to see you again.”</p><p>“Viktor.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading chapter 3! I hope you enjoyed it!<br/>Feel free to drop a comment to let me know your thoughts</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Previously: <br/>Several groans could be heard but she kept her eyes closed so she could focus on easing the churning of her stomach. Opening her eyes she blinked twice. Collins was bent over, face pinched as he took several deep breaths. Hamilton was relieving himself of the contents of her stomach behind the nearest tree. Luna was giggling while spinning in circles, not really a surprise that she’d be one to get magically high from portkey travel. </p><p>“Hermione.” The Bulgarian accent floated across the clearing. “Nice to see you again.”</p><p>“Viktor.”</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Across the clearing stood Viktor Krum with two men on either side of him. Black combat boots stood out amongst the yellow-orange grass. His black pants were loose at the bottom, becoming a tighter fit as they hugged his muscular thighs. He wore a chocolate brown t-shirt with four golden buttons off the side to the right. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His arms were crossed over her chest, amplifying his large biceps that had several tattoos peeking out. His standard off-the-shoulder cape adorned his left shoulder, but instead of the poppy red she was used to, it was navy blue. Her eyes traced the line of his strong jaw, a smile etched onto his tanned skin while his dark eyes sparkled with joy. His hair had shocked her though, as she was used to him keeping it quite short year-round. Viktor’s hair now rested on his shoulders, though it was slicked back out of his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His traveling companions were dressed the same as him, except they were in azure capes and black t-shirts with silver buttons. They were all quite stiff looking, standing there as a soft breeze blew, ruffling the pieces of her hair that had fallen from her bun. The scene before her looked as if it should be part of an art gallery. The five of them formed a V with Viktor being the center point, while the assorted autumn-colored trees lined the landscape behind them. Its raw beauty took Hermione’s breath away as she smiled fondly at the view. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione. Luna. Velcome to Vestern Russia.” Viktor’s cape covered arm swept off to the side before resting diagonally across his chest with a closed fist. The four men followed suit directly after he did so, bowing their heads briefly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The pleasure is all ours,” Luna smiled, folding her hands in front of her as she slid her left foot behind her right in a curtsy. Hermione quickly followed suit, not wanting to seem improper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss Granger,” Collins addressed quietly. “The perimeter is clear and we have assured the party that is here is the one outlined on your agenda. If you do not need anything further from us, we shall head back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for accompanying us, Collins. Hamilton.” The two men nodded their heads before using a second portkey from Hamilton’s pocket to head back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure you’re eager to get started but seeing as you have arrived just after noon, how about ve get you settled vere you’ll be residing. Then ve can have a bite to eat before I have Dimitri escort you to meet our dragon handler.” Viktor motioned to the first man to his left with black hair that was styled long fringe. He was a couple of inches shorter than Viktor but held a commanding presence all the same. Both women nodded their heads in agreeance as they walked closer to the five men.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione vill side-along with myself, vhile Luna joins Dimitri.” Viktor and Dimitri offered their hands to the two before they were whisked away in a cloud of black ink. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Velcome to the Krum Fall Estate, Miss Luna. Miss Hermione.” Dimitri mentioned as he gestured to the place before them. The large brick house was two stories high, with several rows of large white windows. The front door was covered by a small overhanging porch and the driveway was cleaned of all the fall leaves, trees were neatly trimmed, and it smelled as if the grass had been recently mown. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Galina vill escort you to the rooms. Ve vill be in the sunroom with lunch vhen you are ready.” The burly dark haired woman stepped out from behind the door where she had been waiting for the young master. Bowing to Viktor then to Luna and Hermione, who was a bit startled to be greeted in such a manner. It had happened at the formal balls the Ministry held every year but everyone was doing it to be courteous to one another. This made her feel uneasy. It was the same way she felt when house elves bowed or addressed her as Master. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here ve are.” Galina’s thick accent was noticeable as she opened the large oak door to a room that was nearly as big as the entire main floor of her house and was decorated in golds, royal blues, and white accents.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Galina,” Luna smiled as she waltzed right into the room, spinning in several circles as she entered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I vill be up shortly to take the both of vou to lunch. Vour bags vill appear soon.” Galina bowed slightly, closing the door behind her as she exited. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This place is amazing!” Hermione turned to find Luna making angels, in what she hoped, was a faux fur rug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s definitely more extravagant than what I was expecting. I figured Viktor would put us up in a fancy hotel but not a whole estate to ourselves.” Hermione was always shocked by such grandeur. She had grown up not having to be worried about money as her parents were both established and reputable dentists, but this was . . . a lot. She didn’t think she could ever get used to it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s quite lovely. The bindersnatch’s aren’t hanging about so the house is well maintained with great magical barriers.” Luna sat up from the rug, hair full of static as it started to float about her. Hermione stifled a laugh as she went to collect Luna’s bags that were floating in from the window. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is a bindersnatch?” Hermione set Luna’s two baby pink suitcases down on the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A bindersnatch is a prankster of a beast. They look like a common grey dormouse but they have wings, which allows them to scurry about homes collecting shiny objects. I’ve lost several sequins and jewels to them over the years.” Luna waved her wand, sending her two bags into the one bedroom. “I’ll take this room if you would like the other one.” Before Hermione could agree a knock was heard at the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come in,” Luna called as she stood up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The vung Master requests vur presence, Miss Granger. Miss . . . oh my! Miss Luna! Vatever have vu done to vur hair?” Galina swished her short wand, instantly taming Luna’s wayward blonde locks. “Better. If you vill please follow me. Master Krum is vaiting for vu.” The two women silently followed Galina which allowed Hermione some time to admire the architecture of the house. Several decorative paintings hung from the walls, some enchanted while others were simple landscape sceneries. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Galina. Hermione. Luna. Please, join me.” Viktor gestured to the small patio table that was adorned with freshly cut sprigs of wheat and sunflowers. Several charcuterie boards were sitting on the table, lined with various meats, cheeses, crackers, and vegetables. Luna sat down on the far side of the table to Viktor’s left, which left the spot to his right vacant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How is the Ministry treating you two?” Viktor sipped on what looked to be red wine, his plate filled with food already. Luna used her wand to float her items onto her plate, with Hermione following suit. She wasn’t overly hungry but she did feel peckish. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It has been quite the adventure. Not as exciting as our last years in Hogwarts but traveling for work has been brilliant,” Luna smiled, pouring herself some juice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s been vat? Five years since you graduated?” Viktor inquired with Luna who was swaying ever so slightly in her seat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Six, actually. Which is hard to believe some days.” Hermione smiled at Viktor who nodded his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You and the loud red-head have been over three years, then?” Viktor popped a grape tomato into his mouth, Hermione watching his slow movements. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Four years, actually. After the final battle, we returned for the eighth year at Hogwarts, completed our exams, and began our careers. It was shortly after our one year work anniversary that Ron and I decided we were better off as friends.” Hermione moved the food around her plate with her fork, not as interested in eating as she had been.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I highly doubt your soul waves would have allowed for the two of you to be together. Your colors didn’t compliment one another in the slightest.” Luna munched on a green olive as she smiled at Viktor. “Even your soul waves don’t match. Viktor and Ron are the same colors, but yours are slightly more bold than Ron’s. Filled with rich reds and golds. Doesn’t compliment Hermione’s plum color at all! When you’re fired up you become redder and when you're sad more purple, did you know?”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Soul waves?” Viktor looked utterly confused as he stared at Luna.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s referring to something similar to chakras, I believe, except for the soul?” Hermione looked to Luna for confirmation but she was getting up to lean over the balcony to look for . . . some other beast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shaw-kras?” Viktor tested the word out, his full attention on Hermione.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Hermione took a rather large gulp of water as his dark eyes seemed to bore into her very being. “</span>
  <span>Chakras are said to be the regions in the body where energy is stored, according to muggles. Some Healers believe it aligns with our magical cores, a way to keep each of us balanced. I haven’t read too much on the topic so I’m no expert.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Master,” Galina interrupted with a short curtsey. “There is a floo call from your father and Mister Dimitri is waiting for the ladies.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Viktor nodded his head towards Galina before standing. “I hope to see you later tonight. I have a dinner meeting but after maybe ve could talk more?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That would be nice,” she whispered as Viktor took the back of her hand to place his soft lips against her skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bye Viktor! Have a pleasant day,” Luna called out from her place in the courtyard beside Dimitri. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When did...” Hermione looked from Luna to Galina, then back to Luna, as she shook her head and followed the maid out to the courtyard</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss Granger.” Dimitri addressed, bowing to her slightly. “If you please follow me to the garage ve vill make our vay to the Krum Draconic Breeding Grounds.” Luna was already walking towards the general direction that Dimitri had them going in. The man was very quiet and stiff next to her, proper, but Hermione almost got the feeling he was going to be happy to be rid of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you vud please step into the tub.” Dimitri stepped in first, then helped Luna and Hermione. The baby blue porcelain tub looked like it had been picked out of a 1950’s home magazine that her grandmother used to have stored in the attic. “Please keep your faculties in check as ve are going to be drained to the K.D.B.G.” Dimitri pulled the drain cord and a familiar feeling of being pulled into a location ran through Hermione’s body. It w</span>
  <span>as very similar to how workers would stand in a toilet bowl and flush themselves down a small chute into a fireplace in the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic Headquarters.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dimitri.” A man taller than even Malfoy addressed their escort. His hazel eyes shone with excitement as he made his way over to Luna as he kissed the back of her hand, following suit with Hermione. Were Bulgarians always so polite? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Boris, I vud like you to meet Miss Luna and Miss Granger.” Hermione studied the smiling man, the first of which she had seen since arriving. Even Viktor’s tight smiles didn’t reach his eyes like this man’s did. His dirty blonde crew-cut hair and bushman beard seemed to fit his personality, and she was pretty sure she only reached mid-chest with how tall he was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have been eagerly vaiting for your arrival.” He looked as though he was barely concealing his excitement, like a toddler who couldn’t wait to get out of the car seat. “I am Boris </span>
  <span>Kuznetsov, a fifth-generation dragonologist serving the Golden Monarchs of the House of Krum.  </span>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We are happy to be here,” Luna looked around their surroundings, which Hermione hadn’t done when she first entered K.D.B.G. and was shaking her head at being caught up in Boris. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I vill leave you to Boris. I vill collect the three of you by six as Master Viktor has made supper arrangements.” Dimitri nodded to Boris before heading back to one of the three small cubicles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you use draining as the main form of travel here?” Luna inquired as she was staring up at the ceiling where large stalactites had formed in the cave. “We prefer flushing back home.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Draining is easier here as ve are not as small as your folk.” Boris chuckled good-naturedly. Hermione nodded as she began to look around the cave as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are all the breeding chambers underground? I feel as though that wouldn’t be conducive for the dragons to fly.” Hermione was in awe at the icicle-shaped formations that hung from the ceiling of a cave. “It’s amazing to know that this was produced by the precipitation of minerals from water dripping through the cave ceiling.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Draika’s typically don’t leave the nest ven vaiting for the eggs to hatch. They prefer the varmth of the underground, plus there is a natural hot spring in the area that covers the scent of blood and the egg membrane. Keeps the predators away, vell, those that dare.” He began walking over to a narrow alley within the cave. “Bohdana has seven eggs in her nest, vich is more than the normal three to five ve see. Depending on vat she thinks of you, you might be able to see the eggs up close.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Up close?” Hermione has just assumed that they would be looking at dragons from within a pen, similar to a zoo.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have been vith Bohdana since I vas but a vee lad. Ve have spent the last thirty-some-odd years together. Dragons bond vith three things; their mates, their hatchlings, and on very rare occasions, people.” Boris pulled a whistle from his pocket, blowing it in three rapid successions. “This vill let her know ve are here. If she is in the mood then she’ll come and greet us, otherwise, she’ll ignore us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If she greets us does that mean we will be invited into her nest?” Luna’s gaze was hopeful as she held onto the strap of her bag. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not necessarily,” Boris started to say as the cave shook slightly. “Vell, vell, vell. Looks like ve vill have a guest today. You see that bend over there? There is a cutout in the vall and that is vere Bohdana has her eggs.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What does Bohdana mean?” Hermione had watched the way his eyes lit up every time he spoke, such tenderness lay in the depths.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It means </span>
  <em>
    <span>God’s Gift. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Bohana vas named by my great-grandfather ven he had come across a torn nest. A rival male vanted to challenge Bohana’s sire for the territory, vich included the female vho was nesting. She fought to protect her nest and eggs but there vas only one egg left unharmed and no mother, so my grandfather brought it home. Kept it in his fireplace on the coals vile spritzing it with vater to keep the shell from cracking.” Hermione was in awe. She had seen a baby dragon hatch in Hagrid’s hut, so she had some idea of what was needed to keep the egg thriving. A friendly, short, and soft growl echoed throughout the cave as a large redhead peeked around the corner.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bohdana,” Boris politely bowed to the dragon, holding his hand up to stop Hermione and Luna from doing so. “I have brought some people to meet you if you are so inclined.” Hermione watched as the dragon took several deep breaths, scenting them before the mighty beast turned away from them. Hermione was slightly disappointed and could tell Luna was feeling the same. While Hermione had ridden a dragon, as a last resort mind you, Luna hadn’t seen one at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A purring noise similar to a cat, though much louder, could be heard as the dragon came around the corner. Garnet scales seemed to glow under the magically lit flames that were scattered along the cave walls. As the beast raised her head, Hermione was able to see </span>
  <span>golden eye</span>
  <span>s observing the three of them. Hermione could feel Luna’s excitement coming off her in waves as she tried to keep her mind calm. She was a bit nervous, especially after her last altercation with a dragon, but there was excitement bubbling underneath as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bohdana laid down in front of the witches and wizard, her giant muzzle several feet away from them. Now that Hermione was so close, she could see the orange, yellow, and black flecks that were littered against the garnet tones. Bohdana blew steam into their faces, ruffling their clothes and hair. Hermione could feel her loose strands of hair begin to curl tighter due to the instant humidity in the air.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ven I introduce you, you need to bow as she is doing to you,” whispered Boris to the women. “Afternoon, Bohdana. I trust everything is vell.” A soft purr shook the ground. “Lovely. This is Luna. She is an aspiring magizoologist from London and is here to help figure out what happened to your mate. This here is Hermione, she’s the brains behind every operation, or so I am told.” Boris shot a wink at Hermione. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Each woman bowed at the waist, which made Hermione nervous that the dragon might try something. It wouldn’t take but a few seconds for them to be taken out. Hermione stood straight as Bohdana sat something onto the ground and began to push it toward them with her large nose. Boris went to grab the object but she hissed at him so he stepped back, then hissed a warning at Luna, too, who returned the smile while not moving. Hermione bent at her knees to pick up the item. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s beautiful.” It was rough to the touch with an intricate scale pattern. It started off black as night at the top, fading into red, orange, yellow, and gold at the very bottom. “What is this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s an egg, but,” Boris looked very confused for a few moments as Hermione took in the fact that she was holding something so precious as an egg. “This isn’t your typical Chinese Fireball egg, though. The eggshell is usually all red scales, different shades, and the pattern moves upvords, not downvords. Granted, ve generally don’t see the shells until after the hatching when we collect them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you do with the shells?” Luna asked while staring at the egg in Hermione’s hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sell them usually. The shells are great for different potions and are sought after by healers too, so the Krum family finds legitimate sources to purchase them.” Boris was enthralled by all of this, his eyes were bouncing back from the egg to the mother so fast that Hermione was starting to get dizzy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So I’m holding a dragon egg because why?” The egg was starting to get heavy as her one arm gave out a bit, causing her to slice her thumb wide open on the sharp point of the eggshell. Bohdana purred before opening her mouth wide.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She vants you to give the egg back. I truly have no idea vhy she is allowing you to hold it, as this is the first in my lifetime to see such a thing here.” Hermione was baffled, but nonetheless, she gently placed the egg in its mother’s mouth, patting the top of her snout before backing away from the dragon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Vell, that vas very exciting!” He jumped in the air, first held high over his head. “Off to see her mates remains now ladies. Ve have moved it to an underground compartment so ve vill valk through that tunnel. If you vill follow me, please.” Hermione was feeling a bit overwhelmed while Luna seemed to be basking in everything that had happened. It was a lot to take in and especially with the way her night had gone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Feel free to vander around the dragon but please stay outside of the green tape, otherwise you’ll be landing on your ass.” Boris chuckled before heading to a group of people who were waving at him. Hermione looked over to Luna who was starting to walk towards the head of the dragon, so she decided to start at the tail end, figuring they’d meet in the middle at some point. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This draik was a brighter red than it’s mate, more than likely to be able to attract a mate with its coloring. That was her assumption anyway, based off of regular animal mating characteristics. He was definitely a full head larger than Bohdana was and almost twice the size of the dragon that had been at Gringotts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shivered, pushing the memory of having to become Bellatrix deep down. Firmly locking that box up with occlumency. It had become obvious to her that she needed to do so after watching the Dark Lord manipulate Harry to come to the Ministry of Magic in their fifth year. She had been researching it a lot during that year and practicing whenever she could. However, she had never had legilimens performed on her before so she didn’t know how adept her barriers truly were. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione paused in her walk about the dragon, turning her head to one side. Her brows knit together as she got as close to the green tape as she dared. She didn’t think this dragon had an ounce of blue on it to her knowledge. She took a couple of steps to the left, eyes going wide. She gasped, there underneath one of the dragon’s back spikes was a partially covered dead body. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the day late in posting the update. My beta and I had a very busy week<br/>Hope you enjoy it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Previously:  <br/>Hermione paused in her walk about the dragon, turning her head to one side. Her brows knit together as she got as close to the green tape as she dared. She didn’t think this dragon had an ounce of blue on it to her knowledge. She took a couple of steps to the left, eyes going wide. She gasped, there underneath one of the dragon’s back spikes was a partially covered dead body. </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>This was going to be one bloody long day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was by far the worst part of the job. Having to be on call, waking up at whatever Merlin-forsaken time that they were called upon was the bloody worst. He ran into the bathroom, swishing his wand as he went to pull clothes out for a couple days. Being prepared for anything had become second nature to him over the course of his life. It had been stressed upon him as he was growing up, after all, that he must  present the perfect pure-blood image. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What a crock of shit that all had been. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t prepared for the turn of the events the war had gone, good winning over evil, but damn if it hadn’t been what the hell he had been praying for. No more Dark Lord meant no more dirty deeds that fought against his very core. Being told to do things that you fundamentally thought was wrong affected a wizard’s magical core. Not too mention, all of the mind games that ensued from such an event. It was no wonder so many pure-bloods went mad over time. His aunt was fine proof of that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His badge went off for a second time which had him rolling his eyes. “Auror Malfoy reporting in.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Auror Dispatch Office, Clerk Bishop speaking. September third. Five o’three am. Please pick up Auror Potter and proceed to the portkey location. Details about your mission will be loaded once you arrive on site.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Confirmed, Clerk Bishop.” Who the hell was causing mischief so damn early in the morning? Groaning he pulled on some warm clothes since the chill was in the air as fall was creeping up on them early. He grabbed his </span>
  <span>lightweight, 4-wheeled carry-on with a completely flat interior thanks to its large external cane. He might be a muggle, but Louis Vuitton made excellent luggage. He adored his Horizon 55 in jet black. He threw some powder into the floo, calling out Potter’s house as the green flames engulfed him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For fuck’s sake Potter. Pansy.” Draco growled as he turned his back to the two of them. He was one-third pissed at stumbling across the scene, one-third jealous, and one-third turned on. “He isn’t even going to be gone that fucking long Pans, couldn’t you leave the blow job for when he came home?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be such a party pooper, Dracikins.” Pansy had stopped momentarily to smirk at the man’s back. She was well aware that Draco didn’t mind an audience or watching, but after their conversation the other day, she was well aware that he also hadn’t been with a witch in quite some time. If he needed something to fuel his fire, or maybe man-up, then she was going to show him. Especially since he ignored her verbal lashing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pannnn, Panss. Fuck Pansy.” Harry stuttered as his cock was fully encased by her hot mouth. “Not . . . nooot, fuck! Not with . . . . Malfoy . . . here.” Pansy grabbed the base of Harry;s cock tightly and corkscrewed her hand around his thick length. She hollowed her cheeks so it was nice and tight on his length before she deep throated him several times. She smirked when he grabbed her hair, unloading his hot seed in her mouth with a low groan. Releasing him slowly, she swiped her thumb and forefinger on either side of her mouth and she looked deep into pine eyes. Pansy adored how Harry’s eyes became darker the more turned on he got. This was the first time they’d done anything sexual but she would say it was a success. Having Malfoy arrive as they were nearing the end was a perk for her. Seemed as though Harry might be a bit of a exhibitionist, which she planned to explore fully later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m . . . I’ll be right back.” Harry quickly shuffled to his bedroom. Pansy tightened her teal silk robe, adjusting the knot in the front.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hate you,” Malfoy’s rough voice called out to her, his back still quite rigid. “We have to fucking work together every damn day, Pansy!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“First of all,” she rounded on him in an angry whisper, “you wouldn’t have caught us if you had let Harry answer first. He is the first one to get the call when the three of you are on duty. Something you are very well aware of. Secondly,” Pansy smirked as Draco glared at her, “I wouldn’t have planned this if you weren’t being such an arse. I told you that she . . .”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! I will not hear any of you non-sensible dribble on that topic again,” Draco went from feeling pent up to pissed off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t understand why you can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>see</span>
  </em>
  <span> it.” Pansy rubbed her temples in frustration. “Maybe you don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>to see it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pansy,” Draco’s voice dropped so low, his defenses clearly up. “Not another word.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ready to go Malfoy?” Potter inquired, feeling the tension in the air. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you please Obliviate me first? I’d rather not replay that scene over in my mind.” Their badges beeped three times, meaning they were approaching the time limit on their portkey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ahh, sorry. We need to get going.” Draco rolled his eyes as he grabbed onto Potter so he could side-along apparate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will never </span>
  <em>
    <span>EVER</span>
  </em>
  <span> speak of this again.” Draco stared down Potter as he nodded his head yes several times. “Where the hell are we off to anyways?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Western Bulgaria. They found the dead body of someone from our neck of the woods.” Potter smiled connivingly at Draco, who didn’t like that one bit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s the catch?” Draco asked crossly, not one to be fooled by such an act.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s on Krum’s land.” Potter might have had a smirk on his stupid mug but there was something more he wasn’t telling him. You don’t inherently know these things without being a Slytherin. He wasn’t sure what kind of a shit show they were in for but he was already regretting answering the call this morning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*****</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione had paced so much that she had actually worn a path in the rug in the sitting room. She knew whose body it was under the dragon, and had gotten a glimpse when Boris and the others moved the dragon over about a foot. She had been about to inquire about the white substance that was around the deceased’s head when several Bulgarian soldiers had rounded on her, shoving a portkey into her hand which had landed herself in this room back at Krum’s estate. Luna had already been here when she arrived, seemingly unbothered with the sudden change of scenery. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare</span>
  </em>
  <span> a bunch of wizards think they could man-handle her then try to lock her up!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione,” Luna called, looking slightly alarmed. “You’re ah . . . glowing a bit.” Hermione unclenched her fists as she immediately looked to the ground, feeling the shame of her temper and actions hit her full force. “Are you alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Hermione cleared her throat as she calmed herself down. “I’m fine, Lune. Thank you for inquiring.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss Looney. Miss Mineninny.” A two-foot house-elf called as she opened the door to the room. “Master Krum has asked Tooty to bring refreshments.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Tooty.” Hermione smiled at the green-eyed creature. Her ears weren’t overly droopy like Kreacher's, in fact, they reminded her a lot of Dobby. Hermione felt her heart clench slightly at the reminder of her friend, it was a bittersweet moment. “Are you wearing a brown dress, Tooty?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes Tooty is Miss.” Her hands began to pat her shoulder length dark hair, nervously staring anywhere but the two witches.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It looks lovely on you.” Hermione smiled as the she-elf gave her a small smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you Miss Mineninny. Master Krum gave us all clothes, freeing us, but we prefer to stay working for him. Tooty gets a sickle a week from the Master, who is very kind to us. Tooty works here and at the main House of Master Krum.” Her chest puffed out in pride and Hermione had to stop herself from squealing in delight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Viktor is very lucky to have such an elf as you, Tooty.” Hermione's praise caused Tooty to blush.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If Miss Mineninny should ever need Tooty, Tooty pledges her life to come help.” Hermione could feel magic wind about from Tooty to herself, eyes widening as the weight of her words sunk in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty,” Hermione began cautiously, so not to upset her, “Are you sure you wish to pledge something like this with me? You don’t even know me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course Tooty knows you,” said the elf. With the snap of her fingers a large album appeared on the coffee table where Luna was seated. “Tooty wishes you to take a look, please.” Luna opened the book, gasping slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, you really need to look at this.” Hermione made her way over to Luna, sitting next to her as Tooty floated the tea and biscuits over to the witches. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty, are these newspaper clippings?” Luna inquired as she waived her hand to drop two </span>
  <span>sugar cu</span>
  <span>bes and a splash of milk into her tea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yes Miss Looney! News of Miss Mineninny’s help at Hogwarts was in the House-Elf Editorials for months. Some of us were quite angry you wanted to change the ways of old. Tooty was very thankful, as it was Miss Mineninny’s words that helped Tooty talk to Master Krum.” She beamed at the brunette with stars in her eyes. “Tooty was assigned to Master Krum when he was five and he has been such a great Master. Tooty asked the Master if she could be a free elf but work for him for a wage.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is very impressive, Tooty.” Hermione was proud that she was able to help Tooty out in such a way. Most elves were not as receptive to the idea but every now and then ones like Tooty, and Dobby, made her hopeful for the future.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty was the first free-elf to work for the Krum family, ever. There are several others who are free and work for the Master. Tooty gets every Monday off so Tooty can do things she likes to do.” Tooty smiled widely as they continued to go through the paper clippings.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty, who is this man?” Luna inquired, pointing to a man standing next to Viktor. Judging by the date it would have been after he returned home from the Tri-Wizard Tournament. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is Viktor’s uncle, Master Alexei and this,” Tooty pointed to the other side of Viktor, “These are Master’s parents, Maxim and Irina.” Viktor was the spitting image of his father but Hermione imagined he must have his mother’s kind heart. Irina’s hair looked like it came down to her waist and her features looked so delicate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I swear I have seen Alexei somewhere before, but I can’t seem to recall.” Luna hummed as her pointer finger rested on her lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty must return to the kitchens to assist with the meal. Master says we will have additional guests tonight, so Tooty must prepare.” Tooty topped up their tea and biscuits before she disappeared with her trolley of items and her album.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She was lovely, wasn’t she?” Luna stood, stretching slightly as she went to review the books that lined the study’s one wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty is a sweetheart.” Hermione followed Luna, residing in finding something to do until they were able to leave this room. However, she couldn’t resist asking the one question that was on her mind. “Why do you think someone would plant </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> body under a dragon?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would suspect that someone is sending a message to remaining Death Eaters.” Luna pulled a green, hardcover book off the shelf, thumbing through it briefly before replacing it. “There were a lot of people who were hurt due to that family being at Hogwarts seventh year.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But why drop him off here? Why not leave him to be found back in Wizarding London?” Hermione could think of several different scenarios for one such as him to be murdered and dumped, but not in Bulgaria. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps he has ties here that we are unaware of? Or maybe he has been hiding out here?” Luna settled on a book as she took a seat in the armchair. “I, for one, will not miss Deputy Headmaster Amycus Carrow. It does raise the question though, who found him and what were their reasons for murdering him. Assuming he was murdered.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe when they let us out of this bloody room we’ll be able to get some answers, but I probably shouldn’t hold my breath, should I?” Luna smiled at her while shaking her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who do you suppose the guests are? Tooty mentioned guests at supper. Do you suppose Viktor’s parents will be in attendance?” Luna was idly going through the book but wasn’t actually reading anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe. I can’t imagine who else would be joining us though.” Hermione was frustrated with not knowing what was happening, something that rarely happened to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me, Miss Looney. Miss Mineninny. Tooty has been told to show you to the baths and to help you get ready for supper.” Tooty was standing in the doorway, one hand playing with the edge of her dress.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did Viktor say who was joining us, Tooty?” Hermione eagerly asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, Miss Mineninny.” There was a brief moment of hesitation in the elf’s eyes but Hermione knew better than to press for information. She would never want to hurt Tooty in such a way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lead us to the baths please, Tooty.” Luna reached down to grab Tooty’s hand with Hermione following suit with the other hand. The world spun briefly as Tooty apparated them into the center of what felt like a steam room.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty will be helping Miss Mineninny while Rizzy helps Miss Looney.” Hermione looked up to see another house-elf with dark hair and a black dress approaching the three of them. She looked older than Tooty, a few more wrinkles and her ears were more droopy. They four of them set to work scrubbing, washing, and rinsing in the warm waters of the bath. It was reminiscent of her time as a Prefect, being able to use such luxuries while at school had been a Merlin-send. Even her own tub at home couldn’t compare. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rizzy will accompany Miss Looney to her room to finish up while you deal with . . .” Rizzy looked over at Hermione and Tooty with a slightly exasperated look. “There should be that specialized hair serum in the cabinet for her hair, Tooty.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right! Thank you for reminding Tooty.” The younger elf scrambled over to the cupboard as Luna followed Rizzy out of the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What kind of hair tonic do you have there, Tooty?” Hermione was intrigued that someone here would have something for her hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mistress also has untamable curls but Master Alexei prefers her hair to be straight when in public. Mistress created this serum herself to enhance her curls. Tooty thinks it will work well with Miss Mineninny’s hair, if that’s alright.” Tooty paused mid-step as she looked worriedly at Hermione.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will gladly take the help,” she laughed knowing her hair had a mind of its own on the best of days. Tooty set to work rubbing the oils into her mid-back length hair. Hermione often forgot how long her hair actually was most of the time since she tended to keep it up and out of her way. If her hair was down then it was because Pansy or Ginny had spent hours using product and spells to keep it from looking as large as it normally was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright. I’ll be taking Miss back to her room to finish helping her get ready.” Tooty presented Hermione with a white fluffy robe that had been warmed with magic. It felt heavenly. Hermione was barely out the door when she bumped into a solid figure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Hermione.” She looked up to see Viktor’s bright eyes looking into hers. They slowly started to descend as she became more aware that she was only in a robe.  “Hermione.” Viktor’s voice was thick with want as he took two steps forward, causing her to step back as she hit the wall. His hand cradled her face as he placed light kisses on the hollow of her</span>
  <span> throat. She knew that she shouldn't let him go further, but his hands were so warm, so nice on her skin, that she found she couldn't bring herself to care. She</span>
  <span> could feel his hand begin to undo the knot of the tie as she turned her head to give him more access to her neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Krum.” A deep baritone voice called maliciously. “Best you keep such actions for your fiancé, no?” Hermione opened her lust filled eyes to see Malfoy glaring at the man who had just begun to light a fire in her veins. Slowly her mind started to piece together the words Malfoy had spoken to the man before her. She shoved Viktor off her as hard as she could, quickly readjusting her robe so that he saw the very minimum amount of skin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>you,” Hermione spoke quietly, evenly. “I am not here to cause distention between you and your . . . fiancé. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> have told me. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> would have let you take such liberties with me otherwise. Tooty, I would like to return to my room, please.” The house-elf had kept quiet in the corridor until Hermione called, grabbing her hand and apparating them straight to her bedroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How dare he!” Hermione seethed as she picked up a random object, chucking it across the room. “He manipulated my feelings and our past so that he could . . .” Hermione threw her hands up in the air not knowing what it was that he was after. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>NOT</span>
  </em>
  <span> some home wrecker, some tarty tramp he can just feel up because of whatever may or may not be happening with his fiancé.” Hermione looked down at her fist, it was a slight bluish-white color, so she took several deep breaths and set to doing a quick meditation session. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is Miss alright?” Tooty asked from her place in the closet where she was pulling out a blue dress.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not that color, Tooty. I will not be seen in Viktor’s color tonight.” She seethed as she went to sit at the make-up station, taking several more deep breaths.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What color would Miss prefer?” Tooty floated the gown, twirling it for Hermione to see the royal blue dress with gold accents.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, how about we go with black with silver accents please,” Hermione asked, her voice wiry and hard. Tooty set about casting several different spells to change the color of the dress while Hermione stared at her reflection in the mirror. She froze as a glimpse of Bellatrix flashed before her. She closed her eyes and started to mentally chant; it was all in her head. It was all in her head. It was all in her head. Reopening her eyes she sighed in relief to see that the visage of Bella was gone, replaced one again by her own face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would Miss like a drink while she gets ready?” Tooty inquired as she opened up a hidden bar within one of the closest doors.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes please, Tooty. Moscato, if you have it.” A large wine tumbler floated towards her causing her to miss Pansy terribly in that moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would Miss like her hair up or down for tonight?” Tooty had been playing with the wet curls that spilled down her back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatever you feel will look good with the dress, please.” Hermione chuckled thinly as Tooty’s eyes lit up with excitement. She set to work magically drying the massive amount of hair as different make-up products began to float and paint her face. Hermione kept her eyes closed, it was just easier for the multitude of brushes that were dancing about. She tried not to think about Viktor or Bellatrix, so instead her mind wandered to Malfoy. He probably thought she was some easy slag now and she really did care what he thought about her, not that she’d ever willingly tell him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can Miss turn to the left, please?” Hermione did so as she felt her hair all being swept to the side, sticking charms would be her best friend tonight it seemed. “Tooty is finished. Would Miss like to look now or after the dress is on?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“After, please.” Hermione dropped the robe to place the knickers on that were laid out before her. What in the world would she need black lace, cheeky panties for? The black bra was plain at least, with enough of a push-up to give her modest B-cups some semblance of cleavage. Tooty set the dress on the floor, using her magic to slowly bring it up so that Hermione could place her arms in the sleeves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss Mineninny looks so, so beautiful.” Tooty looked like she was about to cry as Hermione spun to look at herself in the full length mirror. It looked like a long-sleeved, romper shorts ensemble that was covered in black sequins. The most stunning part of the dress was the intricate silver and back overskirt that started at her waist and flared out to the floor. Tooty brought out a simple black-strapped heel to complete the outfit. Her tamed curls were resting nicely against the left side of her neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss, you also have a package here.” Tooty brought the long box over, along with a note.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If it’s from Viktor, I don’t want it.” Hermione crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at the wall to her right.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not from Master Krum, Miss.” Tooty looked nervous as she set the two items down. Hermione picked up the note, opening the single fold in the paper to see elegant handwriting across the cream colored page. She placed a hand over her heart as she re-read the note several times. Her heart was soaring as she tried not to smudge her make-up with tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Comeback </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Is Always Stronger</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Than the Setback</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>-DM</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the late post. My beta and I had a really busy week<br/>Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter as we start to get into some of the meat of the fic, not so much back ground info.<br/>Please drop a comment, hit the kudos button, or subscribe </p><p>On another note: I am doing up a Pinterest page for this story but I have no idea how to post it so you all can see it. Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Previously: <br/>“It’s not from Master Krum, Miss.” Tooty looked nervous as she set the two items down. Hermione picked up the note, opening the single fold in the paper to see elegant handwriting across the cream-colored page. She placed a hand over her heart as she re-read the note several times. Her heart was soaring as she tried not to smudge her make-up with tears. </p><p>The Comeback <br/>Is Always Stronger<br/>Than the Setback</p><p>-DM</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hermione held her head high as Tooty escorted her to the dining hall. Clearly, some of their dinner guests were going to be Malfoy and whoever else the Ministry had sent, but it was unclear if they were here about Amycus Carrow’s dead body or to be Luna and her chaperones She was hoping it was the first, otherwise words would be had with Kingsley with more force than their original conversation. Even the thought of having to rehash that conversation was making her angry. On Top of everything else, the fact that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Viktor</span>
  </em>
  <span> had tried to get to second base with her while he had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fiance. </span>
  </em>
  <span>FIANCE! She was certainly fired up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss Mineninny? Your hands are glowing again, Miss?” She was going to need to sneak out tonight to deal with her little . . . problem, but for now, she quickly meditated to reign in her emotions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Tooty. Please do not tell anyone about this,” Hermione pleaded,  her eyes shining with desperation. The last thing she needed was having anyone finding out about her problem when </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t even know what was going on.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course Miss! Tooty wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing!” The she-elf’s eyes were wide at the thought of betraying Hermione in such a way, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Tooty.” They rounded a couple more corners and Hermione felt confident in her ability to trust Tooty, but judging by the day’s events may be her trust had been put in the wrong people lately?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is it, Miss. Tooty will open the doors and see you later tonight in Miss’s room.” Tooty snapped her fingers, the two ten-foot double doors opened slowly to reveal a large rectangular table made of dark wood and a beautiful crystal chandelier that lit the entire room. Krum was sitting at the head of the table, two empty seats on either side of him. Harry and Luna were idly chatting with Boris, while Malfoy sat across from them talking to Dimitri. They looked serious and she could only assume it had to do with the new case. Now all she had to decide was whether she sat beside Viktor or Malfoy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Malfoy. No questions asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione swept into the room, her long skirt swishing behind her as her heels clicked on the stone floor. When Viktor stood up, she curtseyed to him in proper etiquette as he was the host. She wasn’t going to make a scene. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His face was tight as he bowed back to her but she didn’t honestly care. They had a past but he shouldn’t have tried to take liberties from her when he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>engaged.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Malfoy stood, a smirk plastered to his handsome face, as he pulled the chair out for Hermione. He might be a prat most of the time but at least he had manners. She cringed to think about what Ron would have been like in a setting such as this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimitri and Malfoy continued to talk about the dead body so Hermione sat there like a sponge, enjoying getting some details about what had been found. Which wasn’t much as they were talking about theories as to why the body was placed in Bulgaria, to begin with. They were also wondering about the white powder which had dissolved when another man had been bumped into, causing the water charm he was using to be splashed on the body. If they were lucky they’d find more on the body when it was transported back to the Ministry of Magic Forensic Division and the lab could further analyze it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good evening everyone.” All heads turned to the woman who entered the dining room. She was beautiful! Bright blue eyes were accentuated by her royal blue dress, sweetheart neckline gave way to ample amounts of cleavage, and her voluptuous curves looked deadly in the mermaid dress. She was slightly broader with an oval face and rust-red hair that was in a dutch braid over her right shoulder, resting at the top of her waistline. Viktor held his hand out, which she readily accepted before placing a chaste kiss on her lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is my fiance, Katya Petrov,” Viktor announced to the table as Hermione tried her best not to feel as if she was second best. Why would Viktor want to be with her when he had </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> as a fiance? She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, could feel the anxiety creeping up the back of her neck as it threatened to take her over. Her field of vision was becoming nothing but a tunnel; long, dark, and lonely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her hand was being squeezed, tightly then relaxed. Tight and relaxed. She focused on the pressure, on the rhythm that was being created from the skin on skin action. She could feel the world slowing as she looked up. Harbour grey eyes held hers for a moment, as she watched the slightest movement of his head shake no. Hermione took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and squeezed Malfoy’s hand back. Never had she been more thankful for the blonde man than she was right at that moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Hermione’s fog cleared the soup was just being served to all of the guests. She could see Tooty shuffling from one foot to the next with concerned eyes fixated on her. Luna and Harry were trying not to make it obvious that they knew something was wrong, but their worried features were plain as day to her. Viktor had the first spoonful then everyone else began to dig into that course. Clearly, she had missed the </span>
  <span>hors d'oeuvres course as they were right into the soup. She lifted the metal spoon to her lips, tasting the pale orange mixture. Roasted butternut squash soup, not one of her favorites but it was still pleasant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She lifted her hand from Malfoy’s but left it resting on her thigh. Hermione needed the reassurance that he was still there. She couldn’t look at him, her embarrassment over the situation bubbling in the pit of her stomach, but she was relieved when he didn’t remove his hand. Hermione gave a smile to Harry and Luna, reassuring them that she was alright. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Viktor had a veiled look of concern on his face while Katya looked as if she wanted to jump across the table and strangle her. Hermione wasn’t about to let Katya’s anger bother her any more than it already had, especially not when she wasn’t concretely sure why she was behaving in such a manner. For all, she knew Katya was feeling self-conscious about her and Viktor’s past relationship, so there’s no need to read more into it than her anxiety was trying to get her to do. You didn’t become best friends with the Chosen One and not have girls giving you death stares at every turn, or even having to put up with Lavender while she dated Ron.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wine glasses were magically refilled as they brought out the appetizers, which happened to be bruschetta with tomato and basil. Two baguettes on small plates were served but it was still fairly quiet in the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Harry,” Katya called out, placing her hand in Viktor’s on top of the table with a barely concealed glance at Hermione. “Vill you tell us about your adventures since the var?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Harry cleared his throat, still not used to being called out after all of these years, which Hermione still found adorable. “There isn’t really that much to report. Most of the adventures I go on now are all sanctioned by the Ministry of Magic. I’m not really supposed to talk about it with non-Ministry people. I am sure you understand, Miss Katya.” She could practically hear Malfoy’s smirk from beside her as she watched in utter satisfaction as Viktor’s fiance pouted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very vell. Vat about your personal endeavors. Certainly, The Chosen One, has some excitement outside of the office, no?” Katya placed her elbow on the table to rest her head on it as she stared Harry down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I assure you, Miss Katya, my life is quite boring outside of the work hours which don’t seem to end when you are a department head and on-call the mass majority of the time. Surprises such as this morning call are about all the excitement I see, nowadays.” Malfoy started to choke on his wine as Harry went red under the collar of his dress robes, which Hermione found highly odd and would </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely </span>
  </em>
  <span>be</span>
  <span> asking her best friend about that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Idle chit chat happened amongst the guests, as Katya fawned over Viktor. Dessert was served and Hermione couldn’t wait to head out, as she desperately needed to talk to Tooty about finding a secluded place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you all for joining us tonight,” Viktor stood at the head of the table, Katya following him promptly after. “The house-elves vill show you to your rooms as I am sure all of you are tired from the day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have a good evening everyone,” Katya smiled at all of the guests, except Hermione who she glowered at. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty is here to take Miss back to her room.” Hermione smiled at the adorable elf as Malfoy stood to pull Hermione’s chair out. “Would Mister like to be shown back to his room as well?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, thank you, Tooty. I believe several of us are meeting to play some cards.” Hermione stood in awe as Malfoy addressed Tooty. She knew he had changed over the years but this was a change she wasn’t expecting to see. It warmed her heart and the small flame of hope for her crush was burning a bit brighter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Mister Draco. Dibs will escort you all to the game room. Miss Mineninny, follow me please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Granger.” Hermione frowned internally at the fact he still called her Granger. She wondered what it’d be like to hear her first name fall from his lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight,” Hermione paused for a moment, gathering her Gryffindor courage, “Draco.” She smiled as he froze for a moment, surprise evident in his eyes as she walked away. The small interaction had Hermione floating on air as she walked with Tooty back to her room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would Miss like Tooty to lay out her bedclothes?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually Tooty,” Hermione bit her thumbnail as she internally debated with herself. “I need to find an extremely secluded place, where no one would be able to find me or sense my magic. I need to . . . do something with it.” Hermione tried to explain without giving too many details away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty won’t get in trouble, right?” Tooty nervously played with the hem of her dress as she asked the question and waited for the response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! Absolutely not, Tooty. I would never intentionally cause you harm,” Hermione’s stomach churned at the thought of harming her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty didn’t think so, but Tooty needed to make sure,” smiling brightly she walked to the closet. “I will find something warm for Miss to wear.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione?” She heard Harry call as he knocked on the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Door is open, Harry,” Hermione called back as she sat at the make-up station and began to take off the evening look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, sorry to barge in on you like this but I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Harry smiled at her, looking around her room as she felt him expand his magic. Always the protective one with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine. What makes you think otherwise?” Hermione took the sticking charm out of her hair as it fell in neat curls down her back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about the panic attack you had at supper?” He pinned her with a look through the mirror, halting her movements. “Clearly you’re not fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was an anxiety attack,” Hermione whispered, hating that she experienced them, although she understood why. Still didn’t stop the embarrassment she felt after each one. It had been a rough couple of days and she hadn’t told anyone, nor had she had time to effectively deal with it all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit! You haven’t had an anxiety attack in a long while, nor a nightmare, if I recall. What do you think is causing it?” Harry loosened his tie as he ran his hand through his hair causing it to go in every direction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. I have pushed it all down. I haven’t really had time to deal with it, but I am very tired and jumpy,” Hermione admitted to her best friend. It still sucked to say out loud but it was she did feel a bit better. “Viktor came on to me in the hallway before supper. Malfoy pulled him off me and surprised me by outing the fact Viktor is engaged.” Harry’s brows knitted as her words slowly started to sink in. He balled his fists at his side as his eyes narrowed like they always did when he was angry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll call the Weasley Trio. You know they’d bring him down several notches.” The twinkle in Harry’s eyes told her that he was mostly joking but it made her giggle. He was trying to conceal his anger with humor, something he had picked up from the Weasley boys over the years. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of being odd at supper, what was going on between you and Malfoy?” Hermione turned in her seat to look at him face-to-face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely nothing that you will EVER need to know about!” Harry’s face held a pink tinge to it as he looked away from her. Maybe Pansy knew what happened between the two? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you get changed and head out for your card game?” Hermione smiled, trying to get rid of him so that she could leave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You sure you don’t want to join us? It’s just going to be Malfoy, Boris, Luna, and I.” Harry inquired as he stood right behind her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I am not one for gambling games. Just do me one favor?” Hermione coyly looked at Harry in the mirror. “Don’t tell Boris and Malfoy that Luna is a card-shark.” Harry laughed, shaking his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I promise. It’ll be interesting to see how Malfoy reacts to Luna’s Ravenclaw stealth. Have a good night, Hermione.” He hugged her around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head before he left her room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss Mineninny, ready to go?” Tooty asked from her place on the cushioned stool. Hermione went to stand over by Tooty as the elf worked her magic with the clothes, which seemed to be flying all over the place now. “Layers are good. The fall air is cool at night where Tooty is taking Miss.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione didn’t argue but she was definitely curious when she slipped on the winter jacket. Tooty put on her own winter clothes before grabbing Hermione’s hand and snapping her fingers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the world stopped spinning she realized that she was standing on a mountain cliff. The Northern Lights were dancing across the sky in their hues of green and blue. The snow was falling lightly as the stars flickered above her with the nearly cloudless night. Miles and miles of trees were below her, not a light of civilization to be seen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are we, Tooty?" Hermione inquired as the small creature wiped tears from her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty had brought Miss to a place where an old Master left Tooty as a punishment for not cleaning the house to Master’s approval.” Hermione wanted to wrap her in a hug but decided against it as she righted herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was very brave of you Tooty, thank you.” Hermione patted her head a couple of times as Tooty blushed. Hermione pulled out her wand, casting a non-verbal spell of her own creation as a small, black vortex opened up beside her. She stuck her hand inside and pulled out a large glass-looking orb. “Tooty I need you to promise me you will never, willingly, tell a soul what you are about to see.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tooty promises!” The elf stated as Hermione felt the magic lock-in, her second time with Tooty in hours. “What is Miss doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My magic has been fluctuating a lot lately, but I have no idea why. A mentor gave me this magical orb to store the excess magic in and I have to do it once a month or flare-ups like what you saw happen today with my hands occur.” That wasn’t the entire story but it was enough of a justification, she thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happens if someone is finding the orb, Miss?” Tooty’s eyes were wide as it began to shine a brilliant white. Hermione cast several spells of protection, concealment, and muggle repellants so that she wouldn’t be disturbed. It had only been a few weeks since her last time, which wasn’t a good sign.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, but I imagine if this much raw magic was released it would cause some kind of an explosion,” Hermione placed her hands on either side of the orb as it began to float. An electric-like current began to run between her hands and the orb as she felt her excess magic begin to drain from her. She sighed as the pressure she had been feeling the last couple of days faded away. Once Hermione felt the first tugging on her magical core she stopped siphoning her magic. The small vortex opened next to her as she stored the orb back in there. She felt light again, no longer weighed down by her own magic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was amazing Miss Mineninny. Are you feeling okay?” Tooty placed a hand on her thigh in concern.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just a bit tired Tooty,” she lazily smiled. Tooty grabbed her hand firmly as Hermione gave her a nod, Tooty’s finger-snapping echoed on the mountainside before landing in her room. Hermione started taking off her layers, much too hot in the room now. She was naked as Tooty brought out a tank top and shorts for her to sleep in. Her hands ran over the emerald green silk material several times, relishing in the feel of it against her skin. Maybe she would buy a couple for herself when she returned home. A knock sounded at her door. Probably just Harry coming to check on her again. She swung the door open, intent on soothing Harry’s concern about her well-being. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever she was about to say froze in her throat as she stared at pale skin. Four buttons were undone on the black dress shirt and her hands itched to touch it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Malfoy,” she said a bit too husky for her own liking, “What brings you here at this hour?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wanted to make sure you were alright before I headed to bed.” The concern that flashed in his eyes had her heartbeat increasing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” She coughed slightly, “Yeah, I am alright. Thank you for tonight. I don’t think I have said it yet but I am very grateful for the help. How did you know that would calm me down?” His eyes left hers as they roamed down her body, she could feel her nipples tighten from his gaze. She should cover herself from his gaze but she found that </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted </span>
  </em>
  <span>him to know what he was doing to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We each cope with the effects from the war differently, Granger.” His eyes had darkened slightly and she was sure she could get lost in them. She desperately wanted to hear him call her first name at that moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose you are right. May I hug you, in thanks?” He nodded his head slowly but her arms were wrapped around his neck before he completed the first nod. He was warm and firm against her body, which was so much shorter than his own. Standing on her tippy toes barely had her being able to reach around his neck. But Merlin did the man ever smell good. Mint and expensive whiskey, and she wanted to drown in it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for tonight, Draco.” She pulled back and went to kiss his cheek while she still had the gall to do so. Malfoy turned his head and their lips met. The kiss itself was very chaste, but the pressure of his lips on hers, no matter how brief, had her body humming. Not wanting to push her luck, she stepped away from him, refusing to look up at him to see what emotions were on his face. “Goodnight, Draco.” She closed the door before he could utter anything, her head resting on the coolness of the wood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Hermione.” She heard the whisper through the oak, soft and breathy. She pushed herself off the door, heart racing. Her name sounded good on his tongue. It may have been through a closed door and he probably didn’t think she was still waiting around, but he had said it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss ready for bed now?” Hermione jumped, forgetting that Tooty was in the room with her. The bed was turned down already, and Hermione jumped in pulling the covers up to her chin. She’d analyze this, along with everything else, at a later date. Right now she felt utterly spent, so she closed her eyes and let a dreamless sleep take her away.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the week late update. Had to re-write this as I wasn't liking it<br/>The regularily scheduled update for this week will happen tomorrow<br/>Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment or drop a kudos</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Previously: <br/>“Miss ready for bed now?” Hermione jumped, forgetting that Tooty was in the room with her. The bed was turned down already, so Hermione jumped in pulling the covers up to her chin. She’d analyze this, along with everything else, at a later date. Right now she felt utterly spent, so she closed her eyes and let a dreamless sleep take her away.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It had been two weeks since the </span>
  <em>
    <span>incident </span>
  </em>
  <span>with her and Viktor. Two weeks since she and Luna had left the comfort of the estate to travel. Two weeks since the dead body had been found with the deceased drake and they were forced to abandon looking into the poor beast’s death. Two weeks since her lips had touched Malfoy’s in the barest hint of a kiss. Two weeks since the erotic dreams had taken over while she slept. Two weeks of being utterly horny with only her fingers to take care of her and not being satisfied because it wasn’t what she truly wanted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Being horny was nothing new to the single witch, however, it had never been to such a degree before. Erotic dreams seemed to be far and few between and she did scratch the itch every few months but there was just something about Malfoy that made her a wet, mushy mess. He’d barely even done anything to her! It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>accidental kiss that had lasted </span>
  <em>
    <span>seconds</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Yet, it replayed in her mind constantly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione,” Luna called out from her place up in a tree, “We’ve been doing diagnosis after diagnosis on magical beasts for a couple of weeks with the exact same results. Why don’t you come take a load off for a bit? Join me?” Luna jumped from the tree and into the lake below. They seemed to have found a hot spot in the current jungle-like territory they were exploring. She hadn’t packed clothes for summer so she’d had to transfigure her clothes, which helped somewhat with how warm she was feeling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luna was also correct in her assessment of their findings. Every single beast had been found dead with a heart attack. Sometimes it was an odd beast in the forest, while other times it was a small colony of fifteen. No two cases were the same, except when it came to how they died. It was baffling and didn’t make any sense to her, which she found frustrating. Even with her nightly research sessions, there wasn’t anything that was shedding light on their predicament. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione. Get out of your head for a bit and come for a swim. Relax. You know overthinking doesn’t make way for new thoughts.” Luna’s logic was impeccable, so she toed off her shoes and dipped her toes in the water. It wasn’t too cold, but enough that she’d have to fully submerge herself in order to acclimatize. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have a bathing suit, though,” Hermione looked down at her already transfigured clothes, not wanting to do so again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, just come in wearing your knickers like I am. Who is going to see us? Wandering hippogriffs? Perhaps a couple of forest fairies?” The women laughed as Hermione stripped down to her black push-up bra with matching cheeky bottoms. She tentatively walked into the water until she reached her knees before she was unceremoniously yanked beneath the water’s surface. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione came up spluttering as Luna swam away, laughing hysterically. The chase was on! Hermione liked a good challenge, and she enjoyed swimming, and so they had inadvertently started a game of tag. There was squealing, giggling, and boisterous laughter ringing in the forested area. It was the first time Hermione had let herself truly enjoy the moment. No thoughts about Bellatrix, her anxiety, Viktor’s deception, her confusing feelings for Malfoy - nothing. It was long overdue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Granger? Lovegood? Where the bloody hell are you two?” The two women paused in their game of splashing one another to look back towards where their abandoned clothes were. Malfoy was walking through a small archway of trees calling for the two women.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Draco?” Luna waved from the water. “How did you get here? Why don’t you join us for a swim? The water feels lovely!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not today, Lovegood. We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for an hour now. The Ministry pin acts as a location beacon. if you will, for all employees in the field. It’s why we’re asked to keep them on our person at all times. Well, in this case, pinned to a very old bag,” Malfoy took off his outer jacket as the heat seemed to bother him as well. “All agents in the field are being called back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why? What’s happened?” Hermione began to swim closer so she didn’t have to yell, but now she was curious.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Two more bodies were found,” Malfoy leaned against the closest tree, averting his eyes as Luna got out of the water first. Hermione was at a standstill though. Could she let Malfoy see her in only her undergarments? The throbbing in her nether region told her to go for it, let him take a look at the goods. Her anxiety was warring with her over the multitude of </span>
  <em>
    <span>what ifs</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who was found?” Luna asked as she finished putting her clothes on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hestia and Alecto Carrow,” Malfoy said as he looked at Hermione expectantly. She realized she was still treading water so she shoved her anxiety to the side, grabbed hold of her raging hormones, and confidently exited the water. She felt powerful as Malfoy’s gaze lingered on her chest before trailing down the rest of her body. His eyes had darkened, which sent a thrill of excitement through her. He did look away when she bent to pick up her clothes, but she saw from the corner of her eye that he was looking, heatedly at her ass. She cast a drying charm before quickly clothing herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what’s the plan?” Hermione gathered some other items and put them into her maroon bag. She was excited that she was able to hold his attention while being </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost</span>
  </em>
  <span> fully naked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“International travel has been suspended until we decide if this is a serial killer or a revenger killer. Since it has been three Carrow family members that have been found dead in the last couple of weeks they think it might be someone out for revenge.” Hermione could hear the edge that was in his voice, could tell that something else was bothering him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t believe that to be true?” Luna questioned, apparently Hermione wasn’t the only one who picked up the tension in Draco’s voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was the Carrow family heavily invested in the Dark Lord’s path to madness? Absolutely. However, if you take that away from them what else is there?” Malfoy looked between the two women with an edge to his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re all Slytherin,” Hermione whispered as wide eyes met Malfoy’s guarded ones. “Could someone hold a family grudge against the Carrows?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You forget that your seventh year was spent hunting Horcruxes while we were left to the Carrow siblings for ALL our detentions and punishments. Even as a Slytherin, I wasn’t safe as there were things my father had done that pissed off more than a few Death Eaters.” The rigid stance that Malfoy took had Hermione wanting to soothe his emotions, to wrap him in a hug and protect him. They weren’t that friendly, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a highly likely assumption,” Luna stated as she gathered up the rest of her belongings. “What have they done with the other Carrow girl? I believe Hestia had a sister.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A twin sister, Flora. As far as I know, she has been taken in by the Minister’s Elite Task Force Aurors,” Draco replied. Hermione felt slightly bad for the girl, having lost the mass majority of her family in under a couple of months. Did it negate her feelings about their role in the second war and how they had been hiding from the Aurors since the Dark Lord’s defeat? No. Justice needed to be served, the proper </span>
  <em>
    <span>legal </span>
  </em>
  <span>way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Port key is ready whenever you ladies are. Oh,” Malfoy grabbed Hermione by the elbow to stop her from following Luna. “You should know that Harry and Weaselbee have been a huge pain in my ass since you took off for your research. Fair warning for when we get back.” Hermione’s heart was pounding in her chest, the fresh scent of woody mint she had been craving filled her senses. A citrus scent also accompanied it and she found she liked the addition. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure they haven’t been </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad, Malfoy.” Hermione didn’t take her elbow out of his hold, the warmth from his hand seemed to move rapidly from her arm to her lower abdomen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just brace yourself, Granger.” He let go of her elbow so she turned to head towards Luna but not before Malfoy cleared his throat. She looked over her shoulder at him, eyebrow raised in silent questioning. “Once you’re all settled in, we should have supper.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Supper?” Hermione’s mind went blank. His suggestion was playing on repeat in her mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Speak Hermione! Answer him! </span>
  </em>
  <span>She couldn’t, she desperately wanted to, but her mouth and brain were not functioning as one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Malfoy looked at her with the barest hint of red on the tops of his ears. “Figured we should talk about what happened at Krum’s place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Hermione cleared her throat as discreetly as one possibly could. “I’ll send you a message then?” He nodded his head as the two of them walked towards Luna, more awkward than they had been in </span>
  <em>
    <span>years.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ready?” Malfoy asked as he picked up the grape soda pop can that was functioning as the portkey. Two more sets of hands joined his as magic flowed around them, taking them back home. Before Hermione had a chance to right herself Ron and Harry were flinging themselves at her. When her world stopped spinning she found a Gryffindor dog pile on the floor. Looking down she saw Malfoy’s arm hooked around her middle. She bit the inside of her cheek to subtly make sure this was real before looking behind her. Malfoy was wearing a pleased smirk on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, Potter. Weaselbee,” Malfoy chastised the two men, “You couldn’t wait a minute for the effects of port key travel to leave before you tried to smother her with your . . . feelings.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve been worried!” Ron sat up as Harry offered his hand to help his best friend up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right.” He turned and left, slightly waving his hand in a see-you-later motion. “Later, Granger.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would anyone like to get lunch?” Luna offered to the Gryffindor Trio, who all heartily agreed. Luna and Ron walked ahead, chatting about where they wanted to eat and who had the best food. Harry was silent beside Hermione, who was equally as silent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, been plagued with any more dreams lately?” Hermione misstepped at Harry’s question. How on earth could he possibly know she was being plagued by grey eyes while she slept? “You know, with a certain deceased, crazy, Death Eater.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s been quiet on that front.” Hermione took a deep breath through her nose as she realized he was talking about Her. She really needed to get a grip on herself. They continued to walk in silence as Luna and Ron had decided on a pita place for lunch. The hour was filled with chatter, laughter, and the warmth of being home. They didn’t touch on a single work event, which she was thankful for and also slightly concerned about. Normally that was the main topic of conversation but they </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> been gone for several weeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Mum wanted to know if you wanted to come to the Burrow on Sunday for supper. She’s preparing all of your favourites,” Ron paused as he recalled the threat of a howler if he forgot to invite her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My favourites? I’ve hardly been gone that long,” Hermione was stunned that Molly would be making her favourite foods.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well yeah. It’s your birthday on Monday, is it not?” Ron looked to Harry, clearly confused but Harry nodded his head yes that he was correct.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh? Oh! I had forgotten all about my birthday!” It was already Friday afternoon and she was going to need some time to unpack, emotionally and physically. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tell your Mum I would be delighted to come. Who will all be there?” Hermione inquired, knowing that she was more than likely going to be having a large party whether she liked it or not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mum thinks the whole family will be there. Fleur is excited for you to meet Victoire. I believe Neville and Luna are going to be invited too, otherwise, that’s all I know.” Ron took a bite of his steak, pepper, and cheese pita as he wracked his brain with other names but came up with nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“McGonagall did send another letter inquiring if I knew when you would be back as she was hoping you could fill in for her a day at the end of the month.” Harry handed Hermione the letter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was nervous about her next trip there and it had nothing to do with teaching a bunch of pubescent children. The crack in her orb had grown after her last magical discharge a couple of nights ago. She was fairly confident that it wouldn’t be able to take another round. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Harry.” Hermione placed the letter in her bag. “If we’re all finished here I think I’m going to head home. I’m sure I have a crabby cat to deal with, not to mention several hours of unpacking. Maybe I’ll have a nice hot bath in a real tub.” And grab a couple of toys to assist with her raging libido. They bid each other goodbye as she headed to the closest apparition point, excited to sleep in her own bed tonight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In true cat fashion, Crookshank had ignored her the entire night, clearly upset that she had been gone for so long. It had taken her a couple of hours to sort through all her laundry and unpack her bag to sort everything. Plus she had several books to be placed on her shelves and notes that would need to go with her work briefcase. Looking at the clock she realized it was just after eight pm. She stretched from her cramped position on the floor, hearing several pops and signing in relief. A soft tapping was heard on glass and she looked to see an eagle perched on her windowsill. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello,” she patted its back before giving it a treat and untying the note around its ankle. Unrolling the scroll she saw it was a letter from Malfoy, inviting her to dinner on Monday. “Holy shit,” she breathed. Should she go out with Malfoy on her birthday? Was he even aware it was that day? Maybe she should suggest another date? Was she ready? It was only three days away. Hermione scribbled her acceptance onto a piece of parchment before she could second guess herself and tied it back around the bird’s leg. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bath, then bed,” Hermione uttered to herself. She had said yes to Malfoy in hopes that she wouldn’t have to deal with her anxiety over their situation for too long. If she waited to meet up with him then she would trap herself in a game of ‘What If’ and that was never a good situation. Pansy was in town tomorrow, her birthday party with the Weasley’s was on Sunday and then work all day Monday before her date. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wait . . . was it a date? Also, wasn’t she the one who said she would message him? Maybe he just wanted to get it over with, turn her down easy and move on with life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Merlin, she hoped not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione stepped out of the tub, towel-dried herself and proceeded to flop onto her bed. The warmth of the tub compared to the cool air of her bedroom had her shivering, goosebumps covering her body. Tonight she could pretend, pretend that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. Even if it was only for one night, sate her curiosity around her thoughts of their potential sexual chemistry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her hands massaged her breasts, nipples pebbling under her palms. They felt heavy in her small hands, too much for her to grasp on her own but if they were Malfoy’s large, calloused hands on her… She sucked in a harsh breath at the thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione reached into her bedside bottom drawer to grab her vibrating, cordless wand. There were some things that the magical world hadn’t been up to speed on, and masturbatory toys was one of those things. Muggles still made amazing products in that department. She had purchased this on a whim a year ago, needing something more than rabbit vibrators and suction dildos but still within the realm of her comfort zone. This white and blue device had been her go-to ever since.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She started off with a two, a nice gentle hum as she pressed it to her clit. Biting her bottom lip, she moved it slowly up and down while her free hand tweaked her nipples. Malfoy was the one using the toy on her, preparing her for his large cock, smirk on his face as he told her to pinch her nipples harder. She obediently did as he asked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You can take more, Granger.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The wand moved up to a four as she gasped, arching off the bed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s right, Granger, take what I give you.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She moaned loudly, twisting and pinching her nipples between her finger and thumb. “So close,” Hermione whispered to her empty apartment. Night after night of dreams had left her a needy mess. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Look at the mess you’re making for me, Granger. Such a pretty slut.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The vibrations of the wand sped up as the dial was moved to a six.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, Malfoy. Yes!” Hermione called out as the bulb of the vibrating wand circled hard and fast around her clit.</span>
  <em>
    <span> That’s my good girl, Hermione. Cum for me.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Yes, Draco. YES!” Her walls clenched as her orgasm washed over her, dropping the toy onto the bed to grab the sheets. Her body was hot and tingling as she slowly came down from her high. She had been pent up for so long that it took less than five minutes, which was relieving but kind of sad too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wanted her fantasy to be real, wanted him to actually be saying those words to her. Also, she may need to figure out why her mind conjured up him calling her a </span>
  <em>
    <span>good girl</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Hermione pushed her toy to the side, pulled the covers off her warm body. Tomorrow was another day to solve problems, for now, she was going to sleep in her </span>
  <em>
    <span>own</span>
  </em>
  <span> bed for the first time in weeks. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks so much for stopping by &amp; I hope you're enjoying the story so far!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Previously: <br/>She wanted her fantasy to be real, wanted him to actually be saying those words to her. Also, she may need to figure out why her mind conjured up him calling her a good girl. Hermione pushed her toy to the side, pulled the covers of her warm body. Tomorrow was another day to solve problems, for now she was going to sleep in her own bed for the first time in weeks. </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione had spent the entirety of her Saturday cleaning her house. Not that it wasn't spotless to begin with, but after being gone for several weeks and having someone pop in only to feed Crookshank there was definitely a couple layers of dust, and more than ample amounts of cat hair. She <em> should </em> have cast a self-cleaning charm she had learned from Molly but the morning she left had been a bit of a shit show. Between her dream of Bellatrix, cuddling with Pansy and Harry, and waking up late she hadn’t even given it the time of day.</p><p> </p><p>Granted, she hadn’t given herself the time of day to delve into said dream either. She was more than happy to pretend it didn’t happen. Actually, there was a list she would rather omit from her memory. Krum having a fiancé and <em> still </em> trying to get inside her pants, her anxious outburst at the supper table, and her kiss with Malfoy.</p><p> </p><p>Well, she wasn’t going to be forgetting that kiss anytime soon. Even though it hadn’t lasted more than three seconds, it was still permanently etched into her mind. </p><p> </p><p>It was well into the evening when she had begun to think about the past couple of weeks so she grabbed her laptop. There was one topic she needed to research because it had been baffling. It was something that had never been said to her, not in that context, and it certainly wasn’t something she fantasized about before. So, why did it randomly happen last night? Was there more to it than it simply being two words someone uttered to another person?</p><p> </p><p>Sex in the wizarding world was still a very taboo topic to talk about out in the open. It definitely was NOT like that for people her age in the muggle world. Muggles did sexual education and self-exploration better than wizards did. They hadn’t even learned to cast birth control spells in school and that’s when everyone started being active. If you didn’t have a friend who knew, or if your partner didn’t know, then you were pretty much out of luck. Thankfully, her first partner had known and had been willing to teach her. She had ended up teaching half the girls in her year the charm as word travelled fast that she knew it. Who better to teach someone the charm than the swotty Hermione Granger? With that in mind she pulled up the search engine and typed in two words.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Good Girl.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Perfume. That was what the first result had given her but was definitely <em> NOT </em> what she was looking for. She scrolled through a couple of pages, but wasn’t finding what she was looking for, so she decided on another word. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Good Girl Sex. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>This had brought her to a series of different book and audio book topics. Most of which were geared towards ‘naughty girls don’t always have the most fun’. She clicked a couple of links, sighing when she didn’t find what she was looking for. Scrolling further down she found several forums where religious women were asking questions about sex, most of which were virgins inquiring. There were a few asking how to make it better for their husbands, how to make sure they got off. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes, guys were more than likely to get off ninety percent of the time. There were even questions around ‘how do I know if I have had an orgasm from my husband?’ Nope! She was not getting into the dynamics of a give and take sexual experience with random people on the internet. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Good Girl Kink. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>First to pop up were a couple or porn sites and maybe she would check into those later, but right now she was on a mission. She selected a promising link, her eyes widening as she read through it all. She hadn’t researched sex all that often, outside of oral techniques or ways to help her relax, but she had stumbled into a very intricate world. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione Granger might have a praise kink.</p><p> </p><p>A praise kink meant that she would get off on the appraisal or confirmation from their partner. Specific phrases such as ‘good girl’ or ‘you are doing an amazing job’ could put her into a euphoric state and, possibly, make her more submissive towards her partner. Is that what had happened last night? Is being praised in her fantasy what had sent her over the edge?</p><p> </p><p>Could she submit to someone else when sex was involved?</p><p> </p><p>It posed an interesting hypothesis. Essentially, submission was about giving and receiving power between a dominant and submissive. When the wizarding world thought of BDSM it was directed towards pain being inflicted, having no voice, and being subservient. However, now that she was researching, Hermione could see that there was so much more to it. BDSM had such a wide array of kinks and exploratory natures that covered several different types of topics and lifestyles. </p><p> </p><p>The more she read the more curious she became about the world, so she did what came naturally to her. She found books and ordered them into the muggle store, Narnes and Boble. She giggled in excitement when she realized she could pick them up on her birthday. What better way to celebrate her birthday than with several new books?</p><p> </p><p>Hermione continued her research until well after midnight, her mind a sponge, soaking up all the new information she could. With the flood of knowledge she had gathered, she wondered how one would go about bringing this up in conversation? In an established relationship she would be able to communicate honestly about it, but what if her partner didn’t want to explore it? Was it worth staying with them? Would she be satisfied never experiencing it? </p><p> </p><p>Yawning, she crawled into bed, even though her brain was circulating different points she had read. Were any of her friends aware of such things? Was she more naïve than others? Would she make a good submissive? Fascinating, that she automatically went to submission over being a dominant. </p><p> </p><p>She supposed it made sense. Hermione had helped save the world, had been the ever studious Gryffindor - even outside of school, had been in control of many aspects of her life, and now had a managerial position within the Ministry of Magic. What would it be like to let go of the tightly wound control she had in her everyday life and instead be called a good girl for getting down on her knees in front of a man? A shiver crawled up her spine. Okay, she really needed to rest <em> now </em> as dealing with the Weasley family tomorrow was going to take a lot of energy. </p><p> </p><p>Closing her eyes, she felt Crookshank jump onto the bed, curling up in the bend of her knees as she was laid on her side. It seemed he missed her enough to sleep with her tonight, maybe even had gotten over his disgruntled attitude from her being away. His loud purring filled the room, sending a wave of peace through Hermione as she drifted off into her subconscious dream world.</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>“WAKE UP BIRTHDAY GIRL!” Hermione threw herself out of her bed in a tangle of sheets, pushing her hair from her face as her adrenaline kicked into overdrive. Crookshank hissed at the door from his place on the floor. The door slammed open to reveal an overly eccentric red-head holding a cardboard tray with two paper mugs and a large brown bag. </p><p> </p><p>“Ginny, it’s too damn early to deal with your cheeriness,” Hermione threw the comforter over her head, curling into a ball on the floor. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s noon, Hermione. We need to get to the house by two, otherwise the boys are going to flip out. Besides,” Ginny shook the brown bag slightly, “I brought over your favourite breakfast foods to help celebrate your big day since I won’t be here tomorrow.”</p><p> </p><p>“Harpies stuff?” Hermione mumbled from under the warm covers.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. Coach says we need to bond outside of the Quidditch pitch so we’re going on a two week retreat before our next big game. I’ll be home the second week of October for a week, maybe two. Maybe we can invite Luna and Pansy over for a girls weekend?” Ginny wandlessly pulled the blanket off of Hermione as the bed began to make itself. </p><p> </p><p>“Sure, why not,” Hermione pulled herself up into a sitting position. “Could be fun since we haven’t done anything like that in a while.”</p><p> </p><p>“Girl, you’re hair is a bloody mess,” Ginny was snickering at the wayward look of her best-friend’s curls. “Eat, shower, and change. The boys want you to referee the game this afternoon before the festivities begin.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s my birthday, why does there have to be any Quidditch?” she grumbled as she made her way to her closet to grab her fluffy robe. </p><p> </p><p>“ALL the boys are going to be geared up to go, there is no rain in the forecast, and we might even have enough extras to make full teams.” Ginny barely concealed her squeal at the prospect. </p><p> </p><p>“Fine, fine. It’ll keep the boys out of your mother’s kitchen, which a Merlin-send in itself.” Hermione smiled, she had lost count at how many times she had watched the twins work their magic to steal freshly baked goods or even how many times Ron had been smacked with a kitchen utensil when he attempted to sneak something. Hermione suspected that Molly had a soft spot for the twins, but she would <em> never </em>point it out. </p><p> </p><p>“Here is your french vanilla cappuccino and a bacon bagel with all the trimmings,” Ginny set the two items before Hermione as her stomach growled. There was a small shop in the wizarding world that made <em> the </em> best coffees and food. They were only open from six am to four pm to hit the breakfast, lunch, and afternoon break rushes. She stared at her food, mouth watering. The three cheese bagel with three thick slices of bacon, a large slice of tomato, fresh romaine lettuce, and old cheddar cheese was calling to her. Taking the first bite had her moaning as she settled into her chair. </p><p> </p><p>“Never thought food would elicit such a sound from you. Hanging around Ron too much now?” Hermione threw the crumpled up brown bag at Ginny, who laughed and easily dodged it. Ginny started doing the leftover dishes from Hermione’s grilled cheese supper last night. She had been far too engrossed in research to make much of anything. </p><p> </p><p>“Wait, you’re not fucking my brother, are you?” Hermione damn near spit out the food that was in her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“Where the bloody hell did that conclusion come from?” Hermione finally asked when she managed to swallow what she was eating. </p><p> </p><p>“I had been talking about Ron’s food mannerisms but when you didn’t say anything I thought that maybe he was taking you to pound town, again.” Hermione rolled her eyes, setting her bagel on the plastic bag it had come in.</p><p> </p><p>“I <em> assure </em> you that nothing romantic, or sexual, has transpired between Ronald and I since we broke up,” Hermione evenly and strictly told Ginny. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank Merlin. I love the two of you but I don’t want to go through the oddness of navigating friendship and family waters again. Shower?” Hermione rolled her eyes, finished the last of her bagel and coffee before heading into the shower. “Remember to bring a change of clothes. You know how the boys get during the matches at home.” </p><p> </p><p>Hermione took a quick shower, opting to magically dry her hair and charm it into a top knot. It was easier to keep her hair out of her face when she had to referee. The last time they had played, it had rained all morning, so naturally it became a game of who could splash water and mud on one another <em> and </em>still win the match. Molly was a dream when it came to all household spells and charms but not even she could clean the layers of mud from her clothes when Fred and George had tackled her off her broom to “save” her from a bludger. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you ready yet?” Ginny hollered from the kitchen, excitement and impatience spilling from her tone. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. Feed Crookshank while you wait, please?” Hermione tossed some casual clothes into her bag before rummaging through the back of her closet for her scrappy, old quidditch clothes. She refused to ruin new clothes for a backyard game. She came down the stairs to see her tabby with his back to Ginny, tail twitching in annoyance as the woman tried to pet him.</p><p> </p><p>“He won’t let me pet him,” Ginny whined as he side-stepped her attempt.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve been gone for a while and he might have made a new friend,” Hermione smirked, knowing her cat was going to be spoiled rotten in a few weeks. </p><p> </p><p>“Who?” Ginny glared at the cat before staring down Hermione. </p><p> </p><p>“Pansy.” The gasp Ginny made had Hermione trying not to smirk.</p><p> </p><p>“I will win back your love, my dearest Crookshank!” Ginny promised as she made her way to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of powder and storming off the Burrow. </p><p> </p><p>“Did you want the two women to war over you?” Hermione pat him on his head.</p><p> </p><p><em> Mrou - rou </em>. He held his chin up, clearly gloating at his own plan. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t complain when they smother you in love and cuddles.” Crookshank went to lay on the back of the couch as Hermione grabbed her own powder, heading off to her second home. The Burrow was full of memories, even though it was burned down by death eaters and then fully rebuilt with the money from their share of saving the world. It wasn’t anything luxurious. The Weasley family was humble. Well, most of them were. There were many sleepovers between her and Ginny in the old Burrow, less now since they were all grown and living away from home. She treasured these moments though, the ones where they could all gather together. </p><p> </p><p>The house was quiet, which meant Molly had shooed everyone out already, a kitchen free of her boys and Ginny. It was nostalgic yet bittersweet, walking new halls with the same warmth and love to one she had grown up in. A sharp pain went through her heart, knowing she would never be able to do this with her own home. With her own family. </p><p> </p><p>Her parents were still safe in Australia and no-one knew what she had done. Times were beyond terrifying and each family was looking after their own. Horcrux hunting had taken over her life and she never felt the need to tell anyone how she had kept her parents safe. She wasn’t going to burden Harry anymore than he already was, nor any other person she cared for. She had talked to scholars at St. Mungo’s about her parents' memory but due to the amount of time that had passed there was nothing that could be done. Hermione kept that hidden from everyone, just like her dreams and anxiety. With the exception of </p><p> </p><p>“There’s my favourite ref!” Fred threw an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a side hug and kissing her temple. “Ready to fly, Polestar?” Hermione flushed under the collar of her shirt but didn’t acknowledge the nickname. </p><p> </p><p>“You know that getting on a broom is the last thing I ever want to do,” Hermione side-eyed him.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe you need a different broom?” George cackled as Hermione rolled her eyes. “If we didn’t look at you like another annoying sister, you could have your choice of brooms. Well, I suppose you have ridden one Weasley broom.” The twins laughed as they walked towards the pitch, Hermione between the two of them. They were right about one thing though, she still wasn’t keen on flying. Keeping her feet on the ground suited her much better. </p><p> </p><p>“Who do we have playing today?” Hermione inquired as they headed to the small shed where the brooms were kept. </p><p> </p><p>“All the Weasley kids, Harry, Neville, Seamus, Dean, Angelina, Katie, Oliver, and Zabini,” George smiled as they floated out ten broomsticks. “The last four brought their own.”</p><p> </p><p>“We have bets on how the snake is going to survive against all the lions. You want in?” Fred asked with a look of utter glee on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“Zabini is here because?” Hermione was utterly confused as to why he would be at the Burrow of all places.</p><p> </p><p>“He came along with Pansy, who is dating Harry, as I’m sure you’ve guessed. We also have bets on how long it takes for Ginny and Zabini to slip up about their . . . <em> relationship </em>,” George began to put his gear on as he looked towards the field. </p><p> </p><p>“Where is everyone else?” Hermione looked around for the other people who were supposed to be here.</p><p> </p><p>“Pansy is helping Mom on a top secret mission and the others are doing some warm-up laps. You okay, Polestar? You seem a bit out of sorts.” Trust Fred to be able to pick up on Hermione’s undealt with insecurities. Hermione couldn’t lie to him, they promised they wouldn’t to one another, especially after what they had been through. </p><p> </p><p>“Just a couple of rough nights.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the whole truth either. Hermione didn’t need to burden anyone with her issues when they all had lives to lead. </p><p> </p><p>“Do we need to have a chat?” Fred whispered to Hermione as George took off towards the pitch. </p><p> </p><p>“Honestly, I am doing okay, Fred.” Hermione put her hand on the tall red-head’s shoulder, smiling. “How are you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing lately, so I think everything is working,” Fred stated as he finished putting on the last shin pad. “Do we need to catch-up one night?”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you have the time?” Hermione giggled to herself. “Between the new shop expansion and Katie I feel like you’re fairly busy. Ron says she’s pressing for a ring.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Fred rubbed the back of her neck. “Angelina is also pushing George. I guess a lot of witches around our age are getting hitched.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not wrong. I’m pretty sure that Neville is going to ask Hannah.” Harry and Ron had it on good authority but Neville was a bit nervous about the actual proposal so nothing had happened yet. “But I suppose you already have a bet on that too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Naturally. You think Ron knows how to keep his mouth shut?” They both laughed at the truth in that statement. </p><p> </p><p>“Who can’t keep their mouth shut?” Ron jogged up to them, along with everyone else.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” Hermione quickly recovered. “You guys ready to play?” A round of cheers were heard as they all headed towards the pitch. Hermione headed over to the box, kicked it open and with the swish of her wand released the four balls. The game went by fast, as it normally did, with only one injury, which was to Dean, who had taken a bludger to the shoulder from one of the twins. They had all gone to shower and change before Molly’s big surprise in the white tent that had been set up. </p><p> </p><p>Ginny and Pansy had bombarded Hermione after she had dressed, blindfolding her as they slowly led her down the stairs. She was laughing as the two girls started bickering over her cat. Her poor furbaby didn’t know what he was in for when girl’s night was upon them. </p><p> </p><p>“Happy Birthday, Hermione!” She pulled her blindfold off, gasping as she held it to her mouth. Inside the tent was a replica of her spot from the Hogwarts Library and more books than she knew any of them had combined. </p><p> </p><p>“Where on earth did all the books come from?” Hermione asked as her hand ran down the spines of several books. </p><p> </p><p>“We had a little bit of help,” Harry smiled, eyes sparkling with a secret. </p><p> </p><p>“This is wonderful. Thank you so much,” Hermione had tears in her eyes that she blinked away. </p><p> </p><p>“Pansy helped and I couldn’t have done it without her and Luna,” Molly smiled through her own tears as she hugged Hermione. “Time to eat!” Food started flying onto the tables as everyone settled into their places. Hermione had never felt so loved since the end of the war. It made her extremely grateful for everyone in this room and how amazing her life was.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Previously: <br/>“Pansy helped and I couldn’t have done it without her and Luna,” Molly smiled through her own tears as she hugged Hermione. “Time to eat!” Food started flying onto the tables as everyone settled into their places. Hermione had never felt so loved since the end of the war. It made her extremely grateful for everyone in this room and how amazing her life was. </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hermione was sitting on the floor of her office, papers stacked into piles or floating together mid-air. The humidity was high, so her frazzled hair was in a messy bun with a couple of pens and pencils sticking out. A number two pencil was firmly lodged between her teeth as she rifled through the next pile of papers. This was the worst part about being out of the office for more than a week. All the things that did not get done because she was the head of her department and there was no-one to cover for her. Unlike Harry, Ron, or Malfoy, any one of them could cover the others’ desk, not that Ron would be the one to cover, mind you. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So many requests had come in while she was away, she’d had to organize her piles accordingly. Meeting Minutes. General Inquiries. New Legislation. Reviewed Legislation. Approved Legislation. Pending Legislation for Review. Trial Dates &amp; Prosecution Review. Miscellaneous. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>a lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>to have to try and sort through. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Granger - whoa. What the hell happened in here?” Hermione looked up to see Theodore Nott standing in her doorway, batting away a stray looseleaf. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nott? What are you doing here?” Hermione stood up, feeling the pain in her lower back from being crouched over on the floor for hours too long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m heading to Hogwarts later this week and wanted to see if you would want to join me. McGonagall wants to test out the new hybrid rooms. Could use your swottiness,” Nott smirked, sidestepping Hermione so he didn’t get smacked. “But seriously, Granger, what the hell is all this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was gone for a few weeks with Luna investigating some creature death cases,” she said, frazzled while trying to keep her tone even. It wasn’t that Hermione didn’t trust the man before her, but this was Ministry business and Nott was a cunning snake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did it amount to much of anything?” Nott inquired, grabbing a report out of the air, then beginning to fold the paper into triangles absently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, no really. We deduced that the killings had some common factors but are no closer to answers than when we left.” That had been frustrating to Hermione after she had compiled her notes. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> similarity was that they had all seemed to die of heart ailments. Most were massive heart attacks and in extreme cases a ruptured heart. Luna had collected several corpses of different species for further autopsy analysis and would be starting her own investigation today. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, Hogwarts at three pm on Friday?” Nott released the paper airplane, letting it fly towards Hermione who tried her best not to scold the man for making lines in her paperwork. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you asking me on a date, Nott?” Hermione raised an eyebrow, face as serious as she could muster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t think you wanted a repeat performance,” Nott stroked his chin in fake concentration. Shortly after her break-up with Ron, Hermione had gotten far too tipsy at some random club, stumbling into Nott and spilling her drink down the back of his shirt. She had tried to use magic to rid his shirt of the alcohol but had vanished it instead. He had teased her mercilessly after that, an inside secret between the two of them that he exploited on more than one occasion. He later revealed that her little stint had gotten him laid after he had escorted her to a room for the night, which he had paid for. It was his way of thanking her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I highly doubt there will be alcohol involved while we are on school grounds, Nott,” she raised a disapproving eyebrow, shaking her head slightly. “But yes, I will meet you there that afternoon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lovely. I will let McGonagall know when I owl her later today,” he grabbed Hermione’s hand, kissing the back of it, “Pleasure seeing you as always, Granger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bloody hell. When the hell did you start snogging this buffoon?” Hermione looked to her doorway to see a confused Ron and standing directly behind him, a surprised Malfoy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve been lovers for months now, Weasel. Someone needs to put Granger in her place, naked at my feet.” Hermione swiftly pulled her hand from Nott’s and harshly thwacked him upside the head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pay no attention to that absurd comment. He’s trying to get a reaction from you,” Hermione side-eyed the brunette, attempting to figure out his angle. “Now, what did the two of you need?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Harry wanted me to grab you for lunch. Figured we could eat together in the cafeteria, catch up some more.” Ron was still staring down Nott while speaking to Hermione. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you, Malfoy?” Hermione watched as his steely gaze caught Nott’s smirking one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dropping this off for you.” Malfoy handed her a cream-coloured envelope with his family seal in wax on the back of it. Malfoy looked at the male brunette, voice bored but sharp, “Don’t you have </span>
  <em>
    <span>better</span>
  </em>
  <span> things to do, Nott?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alas, our grand affair will have to wait for another day, M'Lady.” Nott exaggerated a formal bow at the waist before leaving the room, Malfoy hot on his tail. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll talk later, Granger.” Malfoy was hot on Nott’s tail and she was sure Malfoy would be giving the man an earful. His visits of late had been short and to the point, but she would take whatever small amounts of time he would give her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You really aren’t seeing that sleaze, right?” Ron watched the two men leave before turning to Hermione who was already exasperated with the red-head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“NO! Nott is a colleague. An acquaintance at best,” Hermione swished her wand, freezing all the papers in their places. She grabbed her bagged lunch, motioning for Ron to lead the way. “Why the interest in Nott? Maybe you’d rather be naked at his feet?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione,” Ron froze in the middle of the busy office, “you’re not funny.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought it was funny,” she mumbled under her breath. Deciding to change topics she inquired about what more they had to catch up on. They had all just seen each other yesterday for her birthday party at the Burrow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bloody hell. I forgot my lunch in my office. We’ll need to stop by to grab it.” It was unlike Ron to forget his lunch. After all, it contained leftovers from yesterday’s supper extravaganza. Ron motioned for Hermione to head in first so she walked in ahead of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMIONE!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her friends and co-workers from the Ministry were scattered around the room. Hermione did her best to suppress her magic from being released, which had built up again. The surprise party was very thoughtful but her nerves, and excess magic, didn’t take kindly to such things. The last thing she needed was a room full of people to be blinded by the searing white light that emanated from her whenever she let it loose. Ronald pulled her in for a side-hug, effectively curtailing her shock and calming her. There was a giant cake on Ron’s office desk, an icing outline of her in Gryffindor colours was being sliced up and handed out. Marble cake with buttercream frosting, a favourite of hers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lunch hour went by in a blur with people giving her well wishes and chatting about office gossip. She helped Ron and Harry clean-up before heading back to the disaster that was awaiting her in her office. Hermione placed her lunch bag in its usual spot before sitting in her comfy chair. A crinkling noise caught her attention as she realized she still had Malfoy’s letter in her robe pocket. The Malfoy family crest was pressed into emerald green wax, and she was pretty sure the stationary it was written on was worth half her shoe collection.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You Are Cordially</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Invited To </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Dinner with Draco Malfoy</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Monday, September 19th </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Up &amp; Down Bistro</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>159 Wayward Lane, Magical London </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Please Respond By Tapping Yes or No With Your Wand</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>YES</span></em> <em><span>NO</span></em></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy was a prat but he was a bougie prat. Truth be told, she had butterflies in the pit of her stomach over the fact that he had put this much thought into an invite for her. Maybe it wasn’t all doom and gloom and he wasn’t going to tell her that their accidental kiss was for nothing. Hope swelled, but so did all her insecurities. It seemed it was a constant battle to stay positive but she had seen a lot of evil in the world, had stared down some of the fiercest and vile witches and wizards of her time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You became one too.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione flinched. Becoming Bellatrix Lestrange had been necessary to find the Horcrux hidden in her vault. She clearly hadn’t weighed all the repercussions of becoming her, otherwise, she might have thought of another plan. Dealing with the ghosts of her past seemed to be getting more difficult this last while, and she had no idea why. She still hadn’t thought that hard about it either, hadn’t started dissecting her emotions. There was still time to do that though. Hermione tapped her wand to the YES on the invite, watching as it glowed golden before the letters turned bold. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No backing out now.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione had spent the rest of her afternoon going through the remainder of her paperwork, setting up various meetings, and trying to figure out what to wear for her date. Up &amp; Down Bistro was a high-end establishment that was situated at the top of the tallest building in wizarding London. It was charmed to showcase the mountain ranges but the clouds that floated by were one hundred percent real. There was only seating room for one hundred people and generally had to be booked six months in advance, according to the information she could find on it. Malfoy could have pulled some strings, paid a handsome fee for tonight, or people were scared of him. She was leaning towards option two, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That dress is lovely, Hermione.” The brunette looked up, startled, from filing the last of her papers for the day. “You’re hair though. It’s a bit more wild than normal.” Hermione conjured a mirror, gasping at how voluminous her curly locks had gotten from running her hands through it all day. It was a frizzy mess! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh! I'm no good with hair charms,” Hermione threw her hands up into the air in defeat. She wasn’t bad with said charms when she had the time to weave them but she needed to leave in five minutes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Allow me.” Luna raised her wand, casting a couple of charms Hermione was familiar with and a couple she had never heard of before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione nervously smoothed her black bodycon dress with overlapping lace she had brought for her date, not wanting to go out in her formal robes. She ran her hands soothingly down the material of her arms, which was hiding her scar. Hermione was fine around her close friends and extended family, those who had experienced the travesties of the war, but showing her scar in public was a source of anxiety for her. Because it was a curse she couldn’t hide it with spells and charms, it stuck out everywhere she went. Muggles didn’t understand, they thought it was a tattoo and she belonged to some kind of a gang. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There,” Luna appraised her work of Hermione’s hair, clearly pleased. “Natural curls that flow beautifully down your back. Malfoy won’t be able to resist. Not that he hasn’t curved your temptations before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What on earth are you talking about, Luna?” Hermione patted her silky curls, smiling at her reflection. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s all about the nargles,” Luna happily sighed, a dazed look on her face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, well I am going to head to the floo now. Have a good evening, Luna,” Hermione smiled at the quirky blonde headed out to the main lobby, reminding herself to ask Luna if there was a reason for stopping by her office. Hermione gripped the strap of her purse, stomach suddenly in knots with each step closer to the floo network. Positive thoughts. Tonight was going to be great!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Up &amp; Down Bistro,” she tossed the powder and let the green flames consume her. She stepped out into the lobby, immediately feeling dizzy and light-headed which wasn’t normal for her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Easy there, Granger.” Malfoy’s large hands grabbed her waist since he had been walking towards her, her head resting on his chest as she fell forward. “The altitude here takes a minute to adjust to.” Hermione closed her eyes partially to stop the dizziness and to soak in the moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Hermione’s cheeks held a bit of cherry red to them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shall we?” Malfoy offered his arm to her, which she gratefully accepted. This was a good sign, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Malfoy.” A stout, slightly bald man approached the two. “We have your table waiting if you’ll please follow me.” Malfoy kept Hermione’s arm linked with his, only letting go to pull out Hermione’s chair for her. “Melissa, your waitress, will be here momentarily to discuss beverage options and hand you your menus. Thank you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How did you get us in? I hear the waiting list is booked for months,” Hermione inquired while glancing around. The booth they were in was secluded, quieter than the open tables and there seemed to only be four in the restaurant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I own the restaurant. Well, I own several unique business ventures such as this one.” Malfoy poured some water for her as she digested the information. You could tell he was proud of this accomplishment, his confidence all the more alluring. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t say I am surprised but this,” she gestured to the elaborate set-up, “It’s amazing. How did it all come together?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When my father was imprisoned, the state of the family affairs was left to me. Which ended up being a bit of a mess since I was sentenced as well. We had to pay reparation for our part in the war,” Malfoy said quietly. Hermione watched as his lips thinned, his demeanour darkening. “Six months after the dust settled, I took some time to go through our assets. Started investing in several industries that showed promise after the war and diversified our portfolio.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You must be using different corporations,” she guessed, smiling at his raised brow, “The Malfoy name hasn’t been in every newspaper spread.” Hermione stared at him down, curious to how he would answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There are differences between my father and I when it comes to publicity. I prefer to keep out of the limelight.” He looked serious momentarily but when the waitress came around to gather their drink orders and supply the menus, the seriousness slipped away. They ordered red wine and continued to chat about Malfoy’s various business ventures, but she couldn’t help think it was all surface conversation. Nothing in-depth or anything that could incriminate him, which made sense. How was she supposed to get to know the </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>Malfoy if he kept her at arm's reach all the time?  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She enjoyed the meal immensely. though. The food was amazing and the company was great. They hadn’t broached the subject of the kiss yet, and she found herself more nervous with each passing moment.  Should she bring it up? Should she wait for him to inquire? Her phone chimed and she excused herself to check it briefly. There was a notification from the bookstore, indicating that her order had finally arrived. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Malfoy, do you mind if we head to a bookstore after this? My order is in and I’d love to pick it up.” It would give her more time with Malfoy and maybe she could broach the kiss topic, or get something other than surface-level information from the man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure. Whereabouts in wizarding London are we heading?” Malfoy folded his napkin in his lap as the waitress brought out their meal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s in muggle London.” She didn’t see any flicker of hate, there was no snide remark, just a gentle smile and a nod in agreeance. “Thank you so much!” She grinned warmly at him, excited to buy just a little more time with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the meal, she had apparated them as close to Narnes &amp; Boble as she could without being seen by muggles. He still offered his arm to her as they walked the streets, taking in the dim street lights and the fewer people. The sky was painted with pale yellows, pinks, and purples,  a  dull orange cresting the horizon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is it,” Hermione steered him over to the door as he opened it for the two of them. She walked over to the desk where a young schoolgirl was working. “I’m here to pick up an order for Granger, Hermione.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll run to the back for your order,” the blonde stated as she finished plunking her name into the computer. Malfoy casually leaned against the counter, looking at the books on display behind the counter. He was relaxed, it was nice to see him outside of his serious work schedule and duties. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ummm, Miss?” The young lady was beat red as she rounded the corner with several books. “He . . . here are your books.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Book of Kink - Sex Beyond Missionary. The Little Book of Kink. Decoding Your Kink. Submissive Training. How to Be a Healthy and Happy Submissive. Granger.” The deep tone his voice took as he said her name had her licking her lips. “Is there something you didn’t feel like you could tell me so you had to show me? Trying to see how I would react to such a taunt?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh . . . no I, ummm,” she bit her lip, turning to grab her books that the still red cashier had placed in a bag. She quickly walked over to where they were serving coffee, putting some distance between them. Hermione breathily ordered, trying her best not to be affected by the blonde. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gran-ger,” Malfoy huskily whispered into her ear. “Not the only one who hasn’t been able to stop thinking about our brief kiss I see. Didn’t see you as the submissive kind, but I’m very </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> intrigued.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we . . . discuss this later, in a not so public setting. Please?” Her voice was hushed and she refused to look at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I look forward to exploring that conversation in </span>
  <em>
    <span>full </span>
  </em>
  <span>detail.” She could hear the smirk on his lips, felt her heart beating rapidly as a single knuckle ran down the length of her spine. She grabbed her coffee and walked over to a small table. </span>
  <span>Silence filled the space between Hermione and Malfoy as they sat there, looking around the room but not at one another. She fidgeted with the hem of her dress in an attempt to calm herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do we have to be nervous about?” Malfoy adjusted his tie, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, we’ve known each other for so long that I think we have exhausted the normal topics one talks about on a first date, and second date, all the dates really. And I’ve already seen you shirtless, twice,” Hermione rambled, pursing her lips as she realized what she had said. She resorted to looking away and playing with the napkin that was neatly placed underneath her mug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When exactly did you see me shirtless?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There was one time after you guys were done training and then that one time Pansy pulled me into the Quidditch change room,” Hermione recounted with fondness and a bit of embarrassment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Malfoy sexily smirked, “Just how long have you wanted to get in my robes?” Hermione glared at him, refusing to answer because she didn’t want to out herself. “There are still a few things that you don’t know about me. No-one does.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We all have some secrets, yours just tend to be plastered everywhere. I’m sure the tabloids never get it all right, so I wouldn’t be too worried,” Hermione boldly placed her hand on his, an effort to comfort him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, well, when I was put on house arrest for the bit between being released from prison and starting at the Ministry I wasn’t exactly at home,” Malfoy looked out the window, chin resting on his hand, looking like he was reliving memories.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I figured as much,” Hermione offered before taking a drink of her beverage. “You talked to Harry about a trip to the Netherlands and that wasn’t sanctioned by the Ministry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Much doesn’t get past you,” Malfoy’s lips twitched as she huffed but let him continue talking. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the choices I made, growing up and when I was,  for lack of a better term, soul searching.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like they’re rather unpleasant,” Hermione gripped his hand now, offering her support.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, this is such awful first date talk,” Malfoy chuckled as Hermione’s pulse raced. He had called it a date, it was official, it wasn’t just all in her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“NO! No, I want to get to know this side of you too, Malfoy,” Hermione adamantly stated, her voice slightly louder as several people looked their way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is a little bit out of my element, but ever since the Dark Lord invaded my home I could never truly trust someone. When that goes on for so long people aren’t just people anymore. They end up being suspects, threats, or targets,” Malfoy closed his eyes taking a moment before he continued. “When I decided to come home that part of me stayed on. It’s a beneficial aspect of being an Auror, but not so great for a personal life. But when I walked into your office, you reminded me that a person could just be a person. There’s always been  something about you, but it became more clear that day in the office.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I was chewing on the end of my pen,” Hermione looked away from his intense gaze. Her heart raced at the fact that he was opening up. She was getting some insight into what his life was like, what changed him to the person he was today. The man she wanted to be with.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was a red pen. You like to use those to make your corrections on reports,” Malfoy smiled and she was utterly shocked that he had remembered such a thing. “I have a hard time wanting to be with someone I really care about, because of my past and now my job, but . . . maybe I was wrong.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione's eyes were misty as hope blossomed within her, brighter than it had ever been before. He was afraid that if she was with him that people may come after her, that she could be hurt. It was extremely sweet of him, but he was essentially deciding for her that they shouldn’t be together and that didn’t sit well with her. However, she also had never said anything to him so she was partially at fault too. She watched as his back became rigid, his eyes darting around the shop and at the windows. Maybe she had spooked him?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps we need to-” Hermione’s eyes got big as Malfoy’s face became fierce as he grabbed her body and tossed her to the ground as glass shattered. Smoke and flames engulfed the bookstore as people’s screams filled the air. The last thing she wondered before the blackness claimed her, was whether or not Malfoy was okay.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading the update! I hope you enjoyed it</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Who is this person that's uploading another chapter before Sunday?<br/>The same person who is playing catch-up because she missed 2 weeks of updates - whoops lol</p><p> </p><p>Previously: <br/>“Perhaps we need to-” Hermione’s eyes got big as Malfoy’s face became fierce as he grabbed her body and tossed her to the ground as glass shattered. Smoke and flames engulfed the bookstore as people’s screams filled the air. The last thing she wondered before the blackness claimed her, was whether or not Malfoy was okay.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Draco opened his eyes. The room was blurry and loud muffled sounds were piercing his eardrums. He looked to the left. The elderly man entered the bookstore after they were lying on the floor, a piece of splintered wood sticking out from his chest. There were flames behind him as smoke hung in the air, sirens were blaring now as people screamed. He tested his limbs, and w</span>
  <span>hile</span>
  <span> his body ached and his pulse pounded in his head, he could tell that nothing was broken or numb</span>
  <span>. H</span>
  <span>e sat up, looked to his right and found Hermione lying on her back. Her dress had singe marks and her pale skin was covered in black soot. There was a large gash on her head that was bleeding. Draco had to reign in his rage at whoever caused that disaster, who had dared harm her. He had many, </span>
  <em>
    <span>many, </span>
  </em>
  <span>years practicing and developing his occlumency and legilimency skills but even he knew that when she was involved it was that much harder to control his responses. He touched her face, the blood had dried to the side of her face, meaning it wasn’t a significant laceration. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He scooped her up and carried her to the back where he could, heading to a shadowed and overcast part of what was left standing of the bookstore. Draco looked around, making sure the coast was clear before he let the black wisps of his apparition take hold of the two of them, landing in Pansy’s living room. Harry, Blaise, Theodore &amp; Pansy were there watching a movie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the hell happened,” Blaise jumped to his feet, running over to where Draco was laying Granger on the table. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s just knocked out. Explosion at the muggle bookstore we were at during our date,” Draco stormed off towards the fireplace, fist punching the cold stone. It should have hurt, logically he knew this, but he was so consumed in his own anger that he felt nothing at all. Not his knuckles crunching, not his skin tearing, not the small rivulets of blood. Nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s all over the muggle news. The fire at the bookstore. What if they saw you disapparate?” Harry was on his muggle device as they listened to a reporter on the scene.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t think it was a good idea for us to hang around the muggles more than necessary,” Draco refused to look at anyone, refused to be seen as weak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who do you think the target was?” Nott questioned as he poured something into a glass, handing it to Draco. “Was the explosion even magical?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Could be anything. A muggle issue of some sorts or a magical one, but it’s such an odd place to target,” Blaise poured himself a drink as he and Nott stood on either side of Draco, flanking him, ready to respond to his possible reaction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They could be angry at the Malfoy family about the war, or about your date, since a pure-blood was with a non-pure blood, or it could be someone trying to kill non-pure-bloods, again.” The room went silent as Harry began to hypothesize some outcomes, putting his Auror hat on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Draco, I know what you’re thinking,” Pansy was standing behind him, talking lowly so only he could hear her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you don’t,” Draco responded harshly to her, eyes burning holes into the dark bricks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know you better than you know yourself some days. I know exactly what’s going on inside that head of yours and you are wrong,” Pansy put a hand on his shoulder, turning him around so that he was face-to-face with her. He hated that she was right, that Pansy knew him better than anyone else in that room. It wasn’t even because they had fucked for a brief while when attending Hogwarts. Oh no, it was due to the fact that she called him on his shit at every step. While others thought Pansy was stupid he knew that it was just a facade. After all, she was a world-renowned fashion designer and had built her empire on her own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t notice that someone had been watching us, that a weapon of some sort was about to attack us. Which means that there’s only one reason. I was distracted, lost my focus, and look where it’s gotten her,” Draco’s hand pointed to the table, his voice raised, “Lying on a kitchen table, bloodied and bruised.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not the first time,” Harry pointed out as Draco’s focus shifted over to him. “You seem to forget that Hermione was part of the war, and was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> reason I survived while hunting Horcruxes. She was the brains behind </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> our operations, even when she was petrified, Hermione still had it figured out.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Draco walked over to Granger, moving her hair from her face. He stroked her cheek several times. It was warm, which meant that blood was circulating and she was alive. She was a fighter, always had been. Ever since she defied him during their first year at Hogwarts she had made an impact in his life. Granger had been utterly annoying back then, following around Potter and the Weasel like a lost puppy. Her know-it-all attitude during their classes pushed buttons he didn’t even know could be pushed. It drove him to be better, achieve greater things, but he was always behind her in their studies. He didn’t perceive her as an equal until . . .</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey,” Draco grasped Granger’s shoulders as she darted upright, gasping for breath while calling his name. “I’ve got you. You’re safe. I’ve got you.” She grasped his shirt pulling herself into his embrace as her whole body shook.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s in shock,” Potter grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch, wrapping it around her shoulders. “Hermione, I need to know if anything hurts.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“J-Just my head,” she whimpered, head resting on Draco’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you stand up? Pansy can take you to the bathroom to get cleaned up,” Potter rested his hand on her shoulder. Draco wanted to slap it away, jealousy and anger boiling together beneath his calm exterior. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! I’m not leaving him,” Granger adamantly whispered to Potter who nodded, heading back to stand by Pansy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about I take both of us to get cleaned up?” he suggested in her ear. She slowly slid herself off the table, one hand still clung to his shirt. They walked out of the room, her legs shaking terribly. The moment they made it around the corner, her legs buckled. Thankfully Draco had an arm around her waist and was able to stabilize her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Easy, Granger. I’m going to pick you up and carry you to the bathroom, alright?” He picked her up before she answered, her arms twining around his neck as she buried her head back into his shoulder. She was squeezing her eyes shut which could very well mean she had a concussion. At the very least a bad headache. He flicked on the light to the bathroom, pushed the toilet seat down before setting her on it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s so bright,” Granger attempted to open her eyes only to rapidly shut them. With the flick of his wrist, the lights dimmed and she was able to open her eyes. “Still too bright.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Any dimmer and it’ll be pitch black in here,” he replied, keeping his voice low and even so he didn’t agitate her head any more than it already was. He went to the cabinet to see if there was any kind of draught that would help her head. Luckily, there seemed to be several so he grabbed one for pain, uncorked it, and handed it to Granger. “Bottoms up. It’ll help the pain for now, but you’ll need to see a MediWitch at the Ministry.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” she whispered, grabbing the bottle from him, her hand seemed to glow in the dim light of the bathroom. He looked around to see if he could find the source of the glowing but found nothing. Gazing back at her hand he saw nothing. Maybe he had hit his head harder than he thought? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, Malfoy?” Blaise knocked on the door before entering. “Your father is floo calling you.” Well, fuck. He was the last person Draco wanted to talk to at the moment. “You know you have to answer him or he </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> show up here and nobody wants that.” Blaise certainly wasn’t fucking wrong. Draco sighed heavily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stay with Granger,” he barked. He meant it as a request but came out more like an order. “Granger, I will be right back. Blaise will stay with you. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she whispered back to him. He handed her a cloth and turned the taps on. He quickly walked to where the fireplace was to see his parent's green-flamed faces waiting patiently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Draco, oh thank Merlin you’re alright,” Narcissa cried out as the flames flickered slightly. “How are you feeling? Are you alright? What about Hermione?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just a few bumps and bruises. I look worse than I feel,” he knelt so his mother could inspect him further. “I think Granger has a concussion though, so I’d like to get her in to see someone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why not call for Doctor Harty?” Narcissa suggested, concern written on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Narcissa, the boy is fine. Why would he need to call Doctor Harty?” Lucius looked to his wife but Draco knew where she was going with her question.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For Hermione, Lucius,” Narcissa answered as if it was the most logical answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why should a mudblood need to see </span>
  <em>
    <span>our</span>
  </em>
  <span> private doctor? Just ship her off to the closest MediCentre.” The green flames suddenly went out as Draco sighed, frustrated and relieved at the Malfoy patriarch. He knew his father wouldn’t have stopped there, would have spread more hate and vile words even though he was “reformed.” In some ways he was. He had come to see that following a maniac for the promise of potential wealth and status had all been for not. Lucius had spent some serious coin on rehabilitating those who had suffered greatly, even going to therapy himself. Not that he was supposed to know of that. It was the ingrained blood supremacy that his father had a hard time moving past. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, your mother is pissed,” Pansy smirked as she sat down in the nearest chair. “How long will your father be in the doghouse, you figure?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At this point, I don’t think he ever leaves it,” Draco rubbed his temples as Pansy snickered. Potter, to his credit, hid most of his smirk behind his drink. His father had been on the hunt for something, not that he or his mother were privy to that information. He was confident that he didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> to know either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His mother and father had been able to keep Malfoy Manor and a fair bit of their wealth after the war. He and his mother had seen to some remodelling. Lots and lots of remodelling. Anywhere the Dark Lord and his band of deranged criminals had housed themselves within the manor had been completely gutted. They had even called in Bill Weasley, one of the best Curse Breakers, to walk through the main halls of the manor. Thankfully, nothing had been cast but that didn’t stop his father from throwing an absolute shit fit over having a Weasley in the manor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Draco and his mother had spent their time reforming and changing their views on the “pure blood” ways, it seemed his father was still stuck in some old habits. While he had been travelling the world, muggle and magical, he had come to see how wrong his parents' views on purebloods and muggles really were. It took him time to adjust, even now there were some slip-ups, but he was working on it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My dear boy,” Narcissa called out, effectively drawing his attention as her face appeared within the flames. “Please call Doctor Harty and send the bill to us. I’ll see you tomorrow, yes?” His mother had always been a kind soul, even while he was growing up you could tell that there were instances where she disagreed with Lucius. He often wondered why she chose this life, watching her cater to his father’s will constantly had caused a knot in his stomach. Growing up he wondered if he would have to bow down to his father in such a way only to find out that he’d have to do that with the Dark Lord. After the war he saw subtle changes in Narcissa, he never inquired about it and maybe one day he would ask her about it all. For now, he was content to know that she was in his corner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, and thank you, Mother.” Well, that was odd. He wondered what his mother was playing at but he could dissect that one later. He made the floo call to Harty who appeared moments later. Her wild black curls were pulled out of her face in a low ponytail, ending mid-back. She smiled, pearly white teeth contrasting with her chestnut skin tone. Harty was tall and broad with dark eyes that were sizing people up before she spoke with them. It didn’t take him long to explain the situation to the woman, moving to take him to Hermione. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Granger?” Draco rounded the corner to the bathroom to see her head in the toilet while Blaise was trying not to gag.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A doctor is here, you can leave,” he began, not even finished speaking before Blaise was out the door. That man had the weakest gag reflex known to man, which was a good thing he wasn’t gay. The poor man could barely brush his back teeth without dry heaving, there was no way he’d be able to take a cock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Miss Granger?” Harty rubbed her back as she groaned into the toilet. “I need you to tell me how you’re feeling.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My head hurts. The world is blurry and there feels like there’s this pressure behind my eyes,” Granger sat up as Draco handed her a cloth to wipe her mouth. “I stood up to rinse the cloth off and the world spun and I felt so cold. I wanted to sleep, but Zabini wouldn’t let me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like you may have a Grade Three concussion, maybe even some swelling. I’m going to do a scan, do you think you can stand for me?” Doctor Harty asked as Granger nodded, helping her up slowly. She pulled out her wand, quietly casting a couple of spells. “No swelling, which is good. You’ll take this tonic tonight and another in the morning. I’m going to request that you not stay alone tonight either. Your magic levels seem to be-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” Granger hastily interrupted, her eyes seemed to beg with the doctor to drop it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Mister Malfoy, who will be staying with Miss Granger?” She packed up her small case of medical supplies, prepared for whatever may have been the issue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will be.” The words were out of his mouth before he could even think.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In that case, you need to know that rough sex is out of the question. Anything that may have blood rushing to her head, loud noises, or where her head may accidentally be hit is also not advised.” Merlin, wanted the ground to swallow him up right then and there but he kept his face neutral. “I will see myself back to the floo. Have a restful night and if you need me again, please call.” She handed him her business card and left the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did she really just tell us that sex was pretty much off the table?” Hermione giggled, which turned into full-blown laughter. “The sex might be explosive but I’ve had enough mind-blowing moments for one day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright Granger, time to get you to bed.” She grabbed onto his arm as they walked out of the bathroom. He didn’t know if he could take any other jokes from her in her delirious state. Her giggles, while sweet, were concerning him. Is this how she coped with trauma? Was she delirious from the events of the evening? Doctor Harty didn’t seem too bothered by it so maybe sleep was all she needed. He could ask her in the morning how she was feeling about everything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All good, Hermione?” Potter inquired from his place on the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Malfoy is taking me to bed,” Granger yawned, head resting on his shoulder but the smirks that graced his friend’s faces said that they were all living in the gutter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope he beds you well, Hermione,” Pansy blew her a kiss.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He will. Malfoy never does anything halfway.” He tried not to choke on air, wondering where her confidence had come from. He ushered Hermione to the floo as laughter echoed in the brick fireplace. He wondered if she would be mortified in the morning to learn about things she said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They popped into the fireplace at his house and Draco picked her up, carrying her to his room. It was faster and more efficient than having to wait for her in her slowed state. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sat her in a chair as he pulled out one of her old shirts and shortened a pair of boxers for her. It would do for one night. “Granger, I’m going to head out of the room so you can change. Call me when you’re finished.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” He left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mister Malfoy?” Draco looked down to see his house elf, Popi, standing beside him. “Do you need anything?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tea, two cups, please. The valerian root tea, Popi,” Draco added as an afterthought. Popi left in a puff of smoke as he rolled his neck side-to-side. Valerian root tea was a good choice since it helped to cure insomnia, nervousness, and headaches. He wasn’t sure how Granger would sleep tonight but he was going to need a little help to calm his nerves from the evening's events. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He started replaying the night’s events over in his head. Supper had gone really well, there was lots of laughter and he was surprised by how interested in his life Granger was. He probably should have inquired more about her life but he heard so much from her loud-mouthed friends that sometimes it was difficult for him to remember it hadn’t come directly from her. Draco smiled at the memory of them walking arm-in-arm, with her smiling at their surroundings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then they entered the bookstore and he was introduced to a whole new side of Granger he didn’t think was there. Her embarrassment was cute but it was the fire and longing in her eyes that had the butterflies in his stomach flutter about. It was very brief before she had turned tail and hid from him but he couldn’t help hope that it was directed at him and not some other bloke. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then the attack happened. He had never been so happy to have heightened senses due to his forced induction as a Death Eater, refined when he became an Auror. It still wasn’t enough though. People had died, others were injured. The image of her laying on the floor, unconscious with blood caked to her forehead and face, would probably become a new regular nightmare intermingled with the others.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Malfoy, I’m done.” He pushed open the door, leaving it open for Popi but stopping dead in his tracks. His black t-shirt was big on her, falling off one shoulder and stopping mid-thigh. It completely covered his boxers that he had shrunk for her to the point that he wondered if she was even wearing them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for the clothes and for letting me stay here with you.” He knew he should respond to her but it seemed words were not properly forming. Why did he think it was a good idea for her to wear </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>clothes? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not a problem,” he finally managed to say as he walked further into the room. “Popi is bringing us some tea if you'd like any.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, thank you. I think I’m going to crawl into bed and sleep.” She turned to get into bed, pausing to stare at it a moment too long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Granger?” He walked up behind her, taking in her legs as he did so. Legs he wished were wrapped around his waist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you want me to sleep elsewhere?” she whispered to him. “I’m still dirty from the explosion and I wouldn’t want to get your bed filthy.” Oh, he more than welcomed it becoming filthy if it was by his doing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, Granger. I’m not clean either and the sheets can be washed tomorrow,” he placed his hand on her lower back giving her a gentle push, letting her know that it was alright. She crawled into the bed, the thick green comforter pulled up to her nose as she burrowed in. Merlin, she was adorable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight,” Granger yawned, eyes drooping, “Draco.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sweet dreams, Hermione.” Draco kissed her forehead, a content sigh leaving her lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Popi has the tea.” She set the tray on the table. “Anything else you need from Popi?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, thank you. I’ll see you in the morning, Popi. Goodnight.” Popi bowed slightly, skipping out of the room leaving Draco to his thoughts. He looked to the bed, then to his tea, and back to the bed. He placed a cooling spell on the tea, drinking it all in three gulps before heading to his walk-in closet. He tossed his dirty clothes in the hamper, putting on fresh boxers before he headed to his bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Draco wasn’t about to squander such a rare opportunity to be in the same bed as her. She may very well hex him in the morning but it would be worth it. Their date certainly didn’t go as he had planned, but he had learned some interesting things about the woman beside him. He was going to need to replace those books for her because he wanted her to learn. Wanted her to be informed before he started his game of seduction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes grew heavy as the events of the day finally started to wear him down. Tomorrow was another day, a day where he was going to start it off with Hermione. Should be interesting. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to my lovely Beta, CrescentMoonMadness, who has been fine-tuning my writing - she's the best &amp; deserves all the love<br/>I hope you enjoyed this chapter from Malfoy's perspective <br/>Comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated from any of my lovely readers</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Previously:<br/>His eyes grew heavy as the events of the day finally started to wear him down. Tomorrow was another day, a day where he was going to start it off with Hermione. Should be interesting. </p><p>Sorry for being a few days late. My Beta and I had a busy month end but here is last weeks chapter and this week will be out on Monday</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eyes blinked several times, adjusting to the rays of sunshine peeking through the curtains casting shadows in the dimly lit room. The strong scent of peppermint, spice, and cinnamon seemed to fill the room. It was vaguely familiar but it caused her to sigh, burrowing deeper into the warmth of the bed. Her cheek rubbed against her pillow, which was strangely hard yet silky. </p><p> </p><p>She felt small circles being drawn on her lower back, slow, drawn-out motions that had her relaxing further. This was one of the most realistic dreams she had that wasn’t a nightmare. The feelings of soft, calloused fingers moved from her lower back over her hip but she wanted to feel it on her thigh. Hermione pulled her knee up and it brushed something hard and her pillow jostled slightly. </p><p> </p><p>Figure eights were the new pattern, some large, others smaller. It soothed her, had her forgetting about all her worries. She knew she should wake up from her dream, should face the day and the hundreds of questions that undoubtedly awaited her. It could wait a minute, or ten so that she could relish in the feelings settling over her.  </p><p> </p><p>Relaxed. Comforted. Protected. Loved.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes shot wide open on the last one. Porcelain skin was showered in the morning rays, a soft glow about it. Hermione twisted her body slightly, chin resting on his chest as bright grey eyes alight with mischief gazed back into her own surprised brown ones. </p><p> </p><p>“Morning, Granger.” The deep timbre of his voice let her know that he hadn’t been awake long but it also sent a pulse to her pussy. It should be a crime for someone to sound that sexy upon waking up. </p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” she whispered. She contemplated grabbing the comforter and making a run for the door. Hiding away from her utter surprise, embarrassment, and impending arousal. </p><p> </p><p>“Nothing transpired,” his deep voice caused her to pause her musings of running away. “Doctor Harty suggested not leaving you alone with your concussion and to ensure you took your meds. I figured my king bed would be safe enough for us to both sleep in.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no,” Hermione buried her face in Malfoy’s chest. She sought out heat while she slept, and had come to that realization when she and Harry had been camping together in the depths of winter. Having never shared a bed with another person in her life it had come as a shock to Harry when he woke to find her snuggled up to his side. It was also why Crookshank tended to sleep with her, or so she liked to think.</p><p> </p><p>“You won’t find me complaining,” his chest rumbled from his chuckle but her nipples tightened into hard peaks. </p><p> </p><p>“I should really go,” Hermione promptly sat up on her knees beside him, pushing off his chest. This was too much, too fast for her. Ron and her had <em> years </em> of what one may describe as foreplay before he managed to even <em> kiss </em> her. One date and one explosion later had landed her in Malfoy’s extremely lavish bed. She’d had one-night stands before, knew the proper etiquette was to NOT sleepover but she also wanted more with Malfoy. Hermione could feel the fear starting to creep in. Fear that he might think her a slag and ruin whatever was happening between them, so her best course of action was to run, right?</p><p> </p><p>“Hermione.” Her whispered name on his pale lips had her frozen. How many times had she thought about him calling her by her first name? It had always been ‘Granger this’ or ‘Granger that’, so it was a bit shocking to hear. Malfoy sat upon his forearm, his long fingers pushed back her unruly morning curls as his thumb brushed the bottom lip she had unconsciously been biting. He slowly leaned up to her, giving her all the time in the world to leave or tell him to stop.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione tilted her head, leaning forward to meet him. His lips brushed hers. Softly. Delicately, like the wings of a butterfly. Just long enough to feel their warmth and inhale one breath. He pulled away, but her eyes stayed closed as she followed him. Wanting more, craving another. </p><p> </p><p>“Mister Malfoy. Miss.” Hermione shot to the other side of the bed as a small, innocent voice called out to them. “Poppi has brought something light for breakfast and the morning papers.” </p><p> </p><p>“How many reporters?” Malfoy flopped onto the bed, the blanket having been thrown back in her haste to put some distance between them. The thick, black band of his boxers were peeking out from beneath it, giving her an eyeful of how incredibly fit Malfoy was. Her fingers itched to see if the platinum blonde hairs of his happy trail were as soft as they looked, or tease the trail of his V with her tongue. </p><p> </p><p>“Poppi believes they are lined up around the block,” she set the tray down as she fixed the small flower arrangement. “Poppi has also brought Miss a change of clothes since her other ones couldn’t be fixed.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Poppi,” Hermione smiled at the house elf in thanks.</p><p> </p><p>“Come. Poppi will bring them to Mister Malfoy’s bathroom for you to change.” Hermione slid off the bed, about to stand when she looked back at Malfoy. He had his arms resting behind his head as he heatedly stared at her. She stuck her tongue out at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Careful, Miss Granger, or I’ll put that tongue to good use.” Hermione eeped, a red flush covering her cheeks and chest. Whether it was because she was embarrassed or turned on she wasn’t quite sure. Maybe both?</p><p> </p><p>She dashed to the bathroom, resting her back on the cool closed door. Her heart was racing, the thrill of his innuendo not lost on her. Hermione was being shy, she tended to be that way when it came to sex unless it was a drunken one-night stand. </p><p> </p><p>“Here you are, Miss,” Poppi laid out some undergarments and clothes for her on the edge of the enormous tub. Hermione looked down at the shrunken boxers and overly large shirt she was wearing. She looked in the mirror, smiling to herself at how incredibly small she looked in Malfoy’s clothes. His clothes were one of <em> the </em>comfiest things she had ever worn. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Poppi. You can call me Hermione if you like,” she offered the house elf, not wanting to be referred to as Miss.</p><p> </p><p>“Poppi couldn’t possibly! That would be rude of her to not formally address one such as you,” her tone appalled that Hermione would suggest such a thing.</p><p> </p><p>“One such as me?” She was about to march out there and strangle Malfoy and his purist ways.</p><p> </p><p>“A War Heroine. The Champion of House Elves,” Poppi’s eyes were wide with wonder. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Hermione breathed. Well, that certainly wasn’t where Hermione thought that was going. “How about we compromise? Would you prefer Miss Granger or Miss Hermione?” </p><p> </p><p>“You would let Poppi call you Miss Hermione?” Stars shone brightly in Poppi’s eyes as they slightly glazed over.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. I would be delighted, in fact,” Hermione smiled, ensuring the elf knew she was serious.</p><p> </p><p>“Poppi would like that a lot. Thank you, Miss Hermione,” Poppi bowed slightly which Hermione reciprocated. “Poppi must assist Mister Malfoy now but Poppi is sure she’ll be seeing you around more.” Hermione watched the elf leave, slightly confused by what she meant about seeing her more but quickly disregarded the comment. She had work to get to today. </p><p> </p><p>She quickly put on the black bra and thong, admiring how she looked in the mirror for a moment and wondering if Malfoy had something to do with the choices. Shaking her head at the preposterous idea - he had never seen her undergarments before to know her size - she pulled on the black dress pants. </p><p> </p><p>Next, was a black camisole with lace trim. She ran her hands down the silky material, loving the feel under her hands. Hermione grabbed the emerald green blouse that tapered down into a tasteful v-neck. Enough to show off the barest hint of lace and cleavage but still tasteful enough for work. It had long sleeves, which she was thankful for in the chilly, fall weather. The bottom of the shirt was slightly ruched and belled out around her belly button, but the rest fit fairly snug. She magically tamed her curls and used a couple of spells to apply make-up, something Pansy had taught her for when she was in a pinch because it was 'never as good as the real deal.'</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you for lending me the clothes. I’ll be sure to return them when-” her brain sputtered before shutting down completely. Before she stood Malfoy, arms pulling on a shirt, his muscles rippling at the action. Hermione wondered if she would get used to the idea of seeing Malfoy shirtless. </p><p> </p><p>“When you join me for supper on Friday?” Malfoy suggested, using magic to button up his onyx shirt and summon the rest of his work robes. </p><p> </p><p>“Friday? Oh, I can’t. I have a previous engagement with Nott,” Hermione watched as Malfoy’s motions slowed, turning to fully face her. There was something utterly domestic about this scene, it both excited and terrified her. </p><p> </p><p>“Theo?” Malfoy looked like someone had just kicked his puppy and he wanted to seek revenge. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think you two were seeing each other.”</p><p> </p><p>“Malfoy,” she ran to grab the sleeve of his robes, stopping him before he could push her away. “Nott and I are reviewing his project for magical hybrids at Hogwarts that day. Nothing more.” The tenseness of his broad shoulders relaxed as she gingerly stroked the hand she had grabbed while speaking to him. </p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions,” his gaze held hers, sincerity shining in the grey depths. </p><p> </p><p>“No, you shouldn’t have,” she scolded him as she would have if they were still in school. The grin that she received for being bossy had her wanting to shrink back, almost as if she were prey. “I did smack Nott for insinuating such a thing last week if you recall. Do you need to be punished for forgetting such a thing?” </p><p> </p><p>“Hermione,” she shivered as he grasped her upper arms, thumbs drawing lines up and down in a sensual manner. “I assure you that I did not forget, nor do I need to be punished. However,” Malfoy loomed over her, making her feel extraordinarily short, “if you continue to use such an attitude with me you will be the one earning a smack. On your bare ass. Over my knee. With my hand.”</p><p> </p><p>“Draco,” she whispered stunned by his forwardness but playing the scene out in her mind. It wouldn’t be so bad, right? Laying across his knee with her naked bottom in the air as his hand swatted her. Maybe she could convince him to turn his family ring around so that the M would be imprinted upon her skin? Oh, she needed to stop her train of thought before she entered the office, otherwise, she’d accomplish nothing. </p><p> </p><p>“How about something to eat before we floo into work?” He moved a hand to her lower back, guiding her to the sitting table. Did this man ever stop emitting heat? Hermione felt a molten trail from where his hand went from her shoulder, down her back, to its resting place right above her bum. A bum he had threatened to - <em> no. </em>She shook her head roughly, trying to rid herself of the thought. </p><p> </p><p>“Poppi makes an excellent tea. This morning it smells like apples and cinnamon,” he handed a cup and saucer to her, their fingers briefly touching. Her pulse raced at the small skin-on-skin contact. She <em> needed </em> to pull herself together. </p><p> </p><p>“How did you come across Poppi?” Hermione asked, dipping her spoon in honey then stirring it into her tea. She placed a couple of pieces of assorted fruit on her plate along with an apple danish. </p><p> </p><p>“Poppi has been employed by me since I moved into this place several years ago,” Malfoy placed some melon and chocolate ganache danish on his own plate. He opted for coffee with a heaping spoonful of honey. “After my house arrest was complete, I bought this place for myself. I couldn’t stay at the Manor any longer, not even with all the renovations, my mother had finished. Too many memories. So I bought this place and it had become apparent I knew very little about how to manage a home so I put an ad out for a house elf. Poppi was the only one who had applied, but she never did tell me why.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m surprised no other elves were looking for work,” Hermione hummed as she popped a grape into her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m a Death Eater from a prominent purist family. I can’t imagine who wouldn’t be turned off by working for such a person,” his serious face was calm but Hermione could tell there was so much more to unpack from that. </p><p> </p><p>“You <em> were </em> a Death Eater who has taken the appropriate steps to make positive changes in his life. Those who know you know the truth,” she smiled at him, truly believing everything that she had said. She had seen it and was currently witnessing just how far he had come since their first year at Hogwarts. His wand began to chime, signalling that they were due to head to work. </p><p> </p><p>“Your potion,” he handed her two small vials from Doctor Harty. “One now and one with supper, docs orders.” She uncorked the first, taking a sniff at the floral concoction before downing it in one go. He walked her to the floo two rooms down from his bedroom, hand on her lower back. “Expect a parcel from me today as well.”</p><p> </p><p>“Malfoy,” she was about to argue with him when his lips met hers in a sensual kiss. No man had ever kissed her like this, all hot and breathy. The heat rose on her cheekbones as she willingly parted her mouth for his tongue to touch hers. His movements were quick and electric, leaving her slightly delirious. He pulled away and she knew that she looked as if she had been thoroughly snogged because that’s how she felt. </p><p> </p><p>“I do enjoy a good game of cat and mouse, Hermione,” Malfoy whispered to her, lips still so close to her own that she could feel his breath on them when he spoke. “Run and hide, little mouse.” He tossed floo powder into the fireplace, called out her department at the Ministry of Magic, and gently pushed her into the green flames. </p><p> </p><p>Hermione stepped out of the floo and into a throng of people as she aimlessly made her way to her office. She was greeted by several people in her office, all of which she managed to say ‘morning’ back to, but she was dazed. On her desk was her purse and a note from Pansy saying that she owed her and Harry the details about how Draco had taken her to bed. Which was such an odd thing to say. Why would Pansy bring such a weird notion up? Thankfully her wand was nestled within her purse. </p><p> </p><p>How odd. She hadn’t even noticed she was missing it in the first place, having used wandless magic on her hair and make-up this morning. Hermione realized that she felt extremely safe with Malfoy, safe enough to not carry a wand on her person. That was a feeling she hadn’t had . . . well, since before she found out she was a witch. </p><p> </p><p>It became very obvious early on at Hogwarts that her brain was a powerful weapon. It was also a reason why a lot of people began to steer clear of her at Hogwarts. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. It happened all the time before she learned she was a witch. Hermione retained information quite well and had the desire to learn and understand the world around her. She became ostracized as a muggle only for it to happen again at Hogwarts before her friendship with Ron and Harry solidified. </p><p> </p><p>She was bullied and she wished she could say that Malfoy was the worst culprit but he truly wasn’t. He had been the nastiest, though. For those first two years at Hogwarts, she let people walk all over her, it was easier to blend in when she could. Her turning point had been when she punched Malfoy in third year. It felt good to release her pent-up anger, to stand up for herself. A very small part, like her baby toe, felt guilty for doing such a thing to the prat for fear of retribution, which never did come. </p><p> </p><p>That in itself was odd. Malfoy had always been so quick to ensure that Harry and Ron were dealt with after any kind of altercation, so why hadn’t he retaliated from her throwing a fist? </p><p> </p><p>“Miss Granger,” three quick knocks sounded on her office door. “Package for you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Come in, Miss Alpine,” Hermione stood, smoothing out her clothes in hopes of distracting her train of thought as well. </p><p> </p><p>“You can call me Lizzie, Miss Granger. Everyone else does,” she giggled as she wheeled in a large cart full of envelopes of all sizes and colours, along with smaller packages wrapped in brown paper. “The large one on the bottom is for you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Lizzie,” Hermione swished her wand, bringing the package from the cart to her desk. “Was there anything else?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yup,” the wide grin on Lizzie’s face had Hermione pausing to see what else she would be handed today. From within the top basket, she pulled out another wrapped package, one she had seen others receive but never her. She tentatively took the gift, staring at it in awe. “Have a good day, Miss Granger.”</p><p> </p><p>Hermione slowly opened up the packaging, not wanting to tear into it too fast and destroy the delicate gift. She brought it up to her nose, smelling the beautiful dark pink flowers. Never in her life had anyone given her such a gift. Flowers were given by lovers, people in relationships, and by those who were thoughtful. A note was tied to the stems, Malfoy’s elegant writing peeking out from the leaves. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A flower to represent my readiness for what you choose to bestow upon me</em>
</p><p>
  <em>-Draco</em>
</p><p> </p><p>How did this man know the language of flowers? She didn’t even know what kind of flower she had in her hand, but she did find it incredibly sweet. Hermione transfigured a pen into a vase, pouring water from yesterday’s bottle into the vase and setting it on the corner of her desk. </p><p> </p><p>She walked around to the other side of her desk, staring down the larger box. Hermione decided that she couldn’t handle waiting until she was home to open this one, which had been her original thought. Tearing into the paper she was met with a brown, unmarked box. Using her wand she cut the packing tape then opened the four flaps. She tossed the tissue paper to the side, almost fainting on the spot. </p><p> </p><p>Her kink books she ordered were sitting in the box. </p><p> </p><p>She collapsed into her chair, having forgotten that part of the date last night. There was another note that simply read ‘<em> Knowledge is Power </em>’, the handwriting looking suspiciously similar to the writing on the flowers. Hermione was finding out more and more about herself and apparently, Malfoy was along for the ride too. </p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, trying to clear it. This was a subject of discussion for another day. She put the box on the ground and started going through the morning reports that were awaiting her attention. She’d focus on that. After all, she was at work, so one should concentrate on work. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed the first Draco x Hermione interaction!<br/>Thanks for reading and feel free to drop a comment or hit the kudos button</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Previously: <br/>She shook her head, trying to clear it. This was a subject of discussion for another day. She put the box on the ground and started going through the morning reports that were awaiting her attention. She’d focus on that. After all, she was at work, so one should concentrate on work.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Answers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had spent most of his life searching for them, craving the knowledge, needing to be one step ahead of the game. They hadn’t always been easy to come by and he was man enough to admit that there were times that he had miscalculated, had chosen wrongly. However, the outcomes had generally been in his favour and if anything he always learned something from his experiences. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had been groomed his entire life to look and act a certain way, to uphold his family’s status, wealth, name, and beliefs. Beliefs that had gotten him into more trouble than they were worth, it now seemed. In his mind it was a small matter of the past as he had helped those who once opposed him, making </span>
  <em>
    <span>some </span>
  </em>
  <span>changes to his views on society. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This tea is lovely, Lucius. Will Narcissa be joining us today?” a feminine voice inquired, drawing him back to their conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She is visiting her sister, Andromeda, today. I was hoping to discuss some items with you though, if that is alright Doctor Harty?” Lucius had been waiting for an opportune moment for this meeting. He’d had to wait a few days after the fire at the muggle bookstore in order to talk, otherwise it may have looked suspicious if someone happened to find out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course not. What can I assist you with today?” The doctor put her teacup on her saucer, intently waiting for him to start. He launched into some story about how worried he was for Draco on Monday night, which wasn’t entirely false. He did love his son, but so much had come between them after the second war that the younger Malfoy barely had anything to do with him. Not unless Narcissa invited him over for a meal or afternoon tea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do I protect my grown son from such accidents?” Lucius </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>his son to be alive, especially now that he had control of the Malfoy and Black family fortunes, plus some other ventures he hadn’t been able to find any information on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know as well as I do that Draco is more than capable of protecting himself,” Doctor Harty said,  finishing off her tea and setting it down on the table. “He has grown into a fine young wizard with many accomplishments.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And how do you feel about him hanging around Miss Granger,” Lucius smirked behind his own teacup. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s a lovely young lady who is given far too much credit for her </span>
  <em>
    <span>contributions </span>
  </em>
  <span>to the war. Why she was ever deemed ‘Brightest Witch of Her Age” when she isn’t even pure blood is beyond me,” Doctor Harty slapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide as she looked from her teacup to Lucius. Lucius smiled, knowing that the potion was working and he was one step closer to his goals. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now what can you tell me about Miss Granger’s orb?” Lucius leaned back in his chair, waiting for her to reveal what she was bound to have discovered while treating the mudblood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What orb?” She was genuinely confused at the questions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The orb of magic Miss Granger has on her person, Giselle,” Lucius hissed impatiently as the doctor slumped back in her chair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Lucius, but she had no orb on her, nor did it ever come up in conversation,” Giselle crossed her arm, glaring at the man before her. Lucius </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> that she wasn’t lying but it didn’t stop him from feeling frustrated that she had seen nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then what is happening to the magic she is using from that artifact?” Lucius stood walking over to the fireplace, placing his hand on top of the mantle. How could she have not seen it? The pearl was easily the size of her fist and the magical signature itself was enough to be a beacon, drawing people to it from afar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Her magic is overflowing,” Giselle stated, even though she didn’t want to. Lucius knew she was trying to fight the potion but there was nothing in her power that she could do. However, he was quite intrigued by her next comment. “I have never seen so much magic being emitted from a single individual before.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean, Giselle?” One hand was still firmly placed on the mantle as he turned his body slightly to acknowledge the tidbit of information.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s like a cup of water that’s close to overflowing, teetering on the edge of spilling onto the table below yet it balances itself perfectly,” Giselle said in awe as she recalled the magical scan she had done of Miss Granger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Interesting,” Lucius hummed, looking away as he tried to rationalize what could be the reasons for such a thing. Never before had he heard of an instance  like the one the doctor described. Magic fatigue happened on occasion, mainly to purebloods, but there was no reasoning behind it that any magical medic had come up with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, if Draco asks I will have to tell him about this conversation. I will not upset him, nor lie,” Giselle stood up, ready to defend herself to the Malfoy patriarch. “He’s been a walking lie detector ever since you sent him for training with your crazed sister-in-law.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You won’t remember this conversation, Giselle,” Lucius grabbed his wand off the mantle, pointing it at Doctor Harty, “Obliviate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>*****</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Granger,” Nott yelled out to the woman who was approaching him, “Right on time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nott, we can’t all be like you. Sleeping in until noon every day,” she batted her eyelashes at him more than necessary. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’d be no sleeping, I assure you of that,” he winked at her as Hermione rolled her eyes. “Side-along with me, M’Lady?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why thank you, kind sir,” Hermione played on Nott’s dramatics, having fun in the moment. She used to worry about his constant flirting and had been embarrassed by his odd behavior. He eventually wore her down to a point where she had started to enjoy his theatrics. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until they were out for supper discussing the current project they were about to have a trial run with that they had bonded. Nott, much like Malfoy, had a rough upbringing with an alcoholic father who liked to beat his son. The alcoholism had become worse after his mother had passed away. There were never any lasting physical marks, but the mental ones that remained were far worse. Nott had taken it until he had a growth spurt in third year, towering over his father and cracking him one across the face. From then on, they kept their distance from one-another. He would forever be thankful that his father was in Azkaban, so that he would leave him alone. He was taking care of himself, and had convinced her that he was mentally stable.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then came the moment where everything seemed to slowly fit into place. To most people, Nott looked like every other rich wizard on the block. He was cocky, well-dressed, only ate at the finest establishments, had a closet the size of her first flat with just as many shoes, and was overly perky in the mornings. He had a few too many bottles of wine with supper and had blurted out one sentence that made her pause, then smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not trying to get into your knickers because I’m gay, Granger.” That was it. The world had all made sense in that particular moment. All the random stuff Harry, Malfoy, Pansy, Blaise, and especially Ron, would say about him from time-to-time melded together like a puzzle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione set her mouth into a sharp smile, training it on the man in front of her. “Sure thing. I’ll get us there no problem.” She offered her hand, but he knocked it out of the way. Instead, he opted to hug her from behind, locking his arms around her waist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do like a woman who takes charge,” he whispered into her ear, warning him with an elbow to his gut. She left him little time to recuperate before they were apparating to the meeting point that McGonagall had left open for them at Hogwarts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, Granger. I know Draco likes it hard and rough, but you don’t need to practice on me.” Hermione sputtered, turning around to give him the what for about her and Malfoy’s lack of physical relationship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perfect timing, Miss Granger. Mister Nott,” a voice rang out across the cobblestones. McGonagall walked towards them as Hermione looked around. They had landed in the courtyard where they had taken their very first flying lesson. Or, more correctly, where three people had managed to get onto a broom before Harry and Malfoy’s first confrontation happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for reducing the barrier so we could apparate here, Headmistress. Nott and I are very happy to be here to see how the prototype works.” Hermione contained the desire to sway back and forth as excitement crept into her veins. They were about to see how the first Creature Safe Room stood up to werewolves, who happened to have one of the worst physical transformations known. It would pave the way for any hybrid that may need a space to go to keep themselves, and others in the school, safe and protected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you will please follow me, I will show you where you can set it all up. We have four students, two males and two females of different ages who have volunteered. With the parent’s permission, of course,” McGonagall added as an afterthought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where did you end up deciding to put the CSR, Headmistress?” Nott inquired, walking on one side of his former Transfiguration teacher, Hermione on the other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We decided the best place was to put it in the old Slytherin House, since we moved it after construction was completed from the war.” They rounded a corner only to bump into Madame Pomfrey.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minerva, I am so glad I found you. We have an issue in the medical bay you need to address,” the medical witch didn’t look too concerned, since Hermione had seen her classmates after their fair share of mishaps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Poppy,” McGonagall turned to the two former students, “Nott, I trust you still know the way to your previous dorms?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Headmistress,” he grinned, a sense of nostalgia taking over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The password is </span>
  <em>
    <span>cinder blocks</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I will have supper dropped off at six pm with my arrival at eight pm. Good day to the both of you,” McGonagall spun on her heel, quickly following Madame Pomfrey out of sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like you get to be in charge now, Nott,” Hermione intoned, bumping her shoulder with his as he brought his arm up to rub the spot she hit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Granger, do you think you could call me Theo?” He started walking, leaving her behind him momentarily. “We’ve been friends for a while now. You know my deepest, darkest secrets that only three other people know. I feel like we can be on a first name basis.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well I suppose we can.” She had never honestly thought of calling him anything other than his last name. It was something they had done with the majority of the Slytherins for most of their life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You better get used to first name basis,” Theo smirked, the kind that meant he was about to get dirty. “After all, you won’t be screaming ‘Malfoy’ when he fucks you. How did he bed you anyways?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Theodore!” Hermione was appalled, her voice ringing out shrilly against the stone walls, but she should have expected this kind of behaviour from him, or any of the other three Slytherins she was friends with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Damn, now I know why R-Weasley makes a big deal whenever you call him by his full name.” He covered his ears as if Hermione had been yelling at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If the two of you weren’t utter morons, then I wouldn’t feel compelled to,” Hermione defended herself before adding, “Be thankful it wasn’t your </span>
  <em>
    <span>full</span>
  </em>
  <span> name, Theodore.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bloody hell. How the fuck did you find that out?” He looked ghost-like at the thought of someone finding out his middle name. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pansy,” she said with finality, one simple word that came with a bunch of conditions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of fucking course she’d rat me out on one of your ‘girl’s night’ affairs,” he rolled his eyes as he stepped up to the painting that guarded the previous Slytherin dorms. “Cinder block.” The painting in question swung open, allowing them entrance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you know how she likes to rant when she has had a couple glasses of wine. Not unlike someone else I know.” She side-eyed him, catching the barest smile on his face as he tried to hide it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Alright, ya got me there.” A large smile broke out on his face, one that Hermione seemed to catch from him. That was the great thing about Theo, he was always cracking jokes. To which she was either laughing at or wishing her ears were not attached to her head. Although, he also tended to use his humor as a shield or ruse to hide behind. The darker the humor, the more pain he was in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like the first four rooms are on the ground floor. Should we start figuring out what we want to do?” Theo pulled a shrunken bag from inside his pocket, swishing his wand so it became a regular sized suitcase. Once he unzipped the bag to open it, Hermione was amazing at all of the shrunken contents that were within it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ever prepared, I see,” Hermione smirked as he shrugged his shoulders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is my job, my </span>
  <em>
    <span>reputation</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and I’d rather be over prepared than under. You know all about that, though, swotty Gryffindor Princess.” Theo ducked away from her first, cackling as she glared at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I hate that name,” Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, slightly irritated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, along with every other nickname a tabloid has created for you.” Theo listed them off, using his fingers to count, “Gryffindor Princess, one-third of the Golden Trio, Golden Girl, Brightest Witch of her Age, Hogwarts Heroine, and-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I bloody get it, Theodore,” she stomped her foot in rage, a pulse of white magic emitting from her feet. It rustled their hair as Theo looked around them, then back to her feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A little old to be having magic bursts like that, aren’t you?” Hermione groaned as Theo started unpacking some items from his case. She wished that was the issue. The magic had become so overwhelming the last few days, but she refused to tell anyone. Hopefully, her meeting with McGonagall would help her sort through it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You mind putting up the protection spells? Your spellwork is amazing.” Hermione nodded, pulling her wand out from its hip holster. Merlin, how many times had she cast these spells while Horcrux hunting? How many hours of research and practice before Fleur and Bill’s wedding? Even after all these years, it was a reflex to cast them. After all, one might never know when they’ll be on the run again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you decide about the windows?” Hermione inquired. The last time they talked about it he was going to add bars, which Hermione argued would feel more prison like. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. I talked with the guys about it and we agreed you were right. We’re not trying to make one night a month in here an Azkaban sentence. Also,” he tossed her a cloth bag, one that she barely caught in her surprise. She opened it up, smiling at the contents. “Pansy is ready for another trial of shifting clothing.” She pulled out a shirt from the bag, feeling the cotton material yet it somehow felt thicker. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’re using it on the room’s padding. As well as several spells,” Theo added as he had finished the four walls fit with cream colored wall padding and was working on the roof. Hermione non-verbally shot a slashing hex at the padding, impressed when nothing happened. A sweet smell filled the room for a few seconds before dispersing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. That one was all Blaise’s idea,” Theo smiled as he magically placed the roof padding in its rightful place. “He’s created a diluted version that we infused with the padding so that if a werewolf becomes </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> aggressive it’ll receive a minor dosage of wolfsbane” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s brilliant,” Hermione was impressed at the lengths they were taking to ensure </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> students could attend Hogwarts. Something they had all been working towards after the war, especially with the amount of abandoned werewolf children that were left in its wake. This would be the first trial and Hermione was eager to record the events of the evening, one that she hoped wouldn’t have too many hiccups. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Previously: <br/>“That’s brilliant,” Hermione was impressed at the lengths they were taking to ensure all students could attend Hogwarts. Something they had all been working towards after the war, especially with the amount of abandoned werewolf children that were left in its wake. This would be the first trial and Hermione was eager to record the events of the evening, one that she hoped wouldn’t have too many hiccups.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Theo smiled as he watched Hermione try to stay awake as the moon started to sink in the starry night sky. It was well after two am, judging by the position of the glowing night orb and while he was tired it was much easier for him to be awake. He felt a slight weight on his shoulder as she finally succumbed to sleep. Theo grabbed his cell phone from his pocket, snapping a selfie of the two of them, before putting it away. Was he going to use this as blackmail against Hermione? No. Was he going to use it bug the fuck out of Draco? Absolutely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Draco had always been obsessed with Hermione, no matter how much he scoffed at the idea nowadays. Harry took second fiddle after third year when he really started to focus on the Gryffindor swot. He only complained to Blaise, Pansy, and himself about her once the Dark Lord took over Malfoy Mansion. He’d had to keep his </span>
  <em>
    <span>true</span>
  </em>
  <span> friends separated from his Death Eater ones and, thankfully, Draco’s occlumency was top notch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Granted, it had to be because of his crazy ass aunt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was thankful that Draco had decided to teach the three of them how to be proficient in it as well. It had stopped his father from digging around his head whenever he wanted during the war. Theo had learned he could feed his father certain memories that seemed to satisfy his inquiries. It also meant his own secrets were kept to himself. There was one in particular that </span>
  <em>
    <span>no-one</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew of and if they did, they never brought it. He wasn’t even sure how to address it anyways. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Speaking of secrets, it seemed that Hermione was also keeping her fair share. Whatever magic she had expelled earlier had been no mere accidental emotional discharge. He knew she was smart, had proved it time and again their entire lives, but the sheer amount of magic he felt was amazing. It was raw, powerful, and had his own magic reaching out to her which had </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> happened to him before. Ever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was clearly hiding it for a reason and Theo wondered if she had shared it with Potter and Ron yet. It would be extremely odd to him is she hadn’t talked to them, in his mind, as he was certain they shared everything. Granted, she hadn’t been overly open about her nightmares and he was certain the only person who knew the </span>
  <em>
    <span>whole</span>
  </em>
  <span> story was Potter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t believe that they had become friends, over drinks, bonding about their traumas of all things. She chatted about her nightmares and issues with Bellatrix while he spoke about his physical abuse from his father. Grand way to make friends, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Granger, wake-up,” he nudged her slightly as one of the were-children’s magic started to increase randomly. He looked at the magical camera system he had installed to find that the child was sleeping still. How odd. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hermione. Wake-up,” he shook her a bit more forcefully as she sat upright fairly fast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? What’s going on?” She was standing now, wand at the ready, as her eyes scanned the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Room A magic increased slightly,” Theo showed her the video feed as she paused, looking for something on the screen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I believe that would be your fault, Miss Granger,” McGonagall spoke from her spot on the large chair in the common room. “You should have come to me sooner.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Headmistress. It hadn’t been too big of an issue lately.” Theo watched the two strong women silently communicate to one another in their weird female way. It was amazing to watch and baffling to try to understand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My office when the sun is fully on the horizon and the students are fine.” McGonagall left the room rather swiftly, clearly on a new mission.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the bloody hell was she on about?” Theo asked, watching as Hermione slumped into the closest chair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The residual magic from earlier happened in that room. Sometimes it will assimilate with the closest magic being for a temporary magic boost. I typically don’t lose it quite like that,” Hermione muttered as she massaged her temples.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to tell me why your magic is . . . amped up?” Theo wasn’t quite sure if that was the correct way to describe it. He had never heard of magic being absorbed in quite that fashion, or ever. Usually, magic fought against magic or people against people, not being absorbed through some weird osmosis type of way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. It started happening back in March when my magic just seemed to grow on its own accord. I have been able to lessen the effect but there was an incident and I can no longer use the same means as I used too.” Theo watched as Hermione started pacing after she spoke. He knew he wasn’t going to get any more from her on the topic but he would file it away to ask her again at a later date. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to be able to go back to sleep?” Theo pulled the time up on his wand, just after four am.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Probably not,” she wrapped her hands around her arms, rubbing them slightly. A habit he knew that she picked up in order to comfort herself. There were certain similarities that they had in common since they were both only children, self-comfort being one of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We might as well play a game while we wait for a couple hours, since most of these students will be awake at six when the dormitory alarm clock goes off. Gives them enough time to get to their common rooms, shower, eat, then head to class.” He conjured up several games for them to go through the next two hours. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He watched her as they started with Exploding Snap. Theo could tell her mind was preoccupied which gave her some time to study her. Her normally bright eyes were a dull shade that were accompanied by darker circles which meant she hadn’t been sleeping well lately. Between the explosion at the bookstore and her own nightmares, she probably hadn’t more than a handful of hours here and there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione wasn’t pale though, so that meant she was still eating. She had been skinny after the war, not that he knew why, but he did have an idea. He imagined that there wasn’t too much readily available food while on the hunt for horcruxes or hiding from those who wanted you dead. She didn’t talk too much about her time on the run or the aftermath of the war. They hadn’t connected much until they chatted about this project, so there was a lot about Hermione Granger that remained hidden to him.. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about you head to see McGonagall? The kids will be up soon anyways,” Theo offered a smile as she warred with herself over her duty to the students and meeting the headmistress. “I promise not to corrupt them too much on their way back to their common rooms.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ha-ha,” Hermione barely smiled as she looked at the video monitor one more time. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah. I’ll finalize the reports since we had no major issues,” he volunteered knowing that she needed this meeting and maybe find some answers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Theo. We’ll meet for lunch next week to debrief?” He nodded his head as Hermione took off down the stone halls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*****</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her feet moved automatically to where she knew she would find the door to the Headmistress's office. Her mind was a buzz with the new knowledge that her excess magic was absorbed by another wizard. She wondered why Theo’s magic didn’t scoop it up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Biscotti,” Hermione whispered, waiting for the staircase to open. She stepped onto the platform as the spiral staircase took her up. She couldn’t help be nervous. She had never been called to the Headmaster’s office before as most interactions with him happened elsewhere in the school or on the grounds. An elegant song filled the room as she approached the landing. It was a familiar sound that she couldn’t quite place her finger on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fawkes?” Hermione whispered in awe as she saw the crimson bird sitting on top of a golden roost. Its feathers looked freshly preened as its golden beak and claws glimmered in the early morning sun. Onyx eyes regarded her as the beast began to sign again, stepping down onto a lower roost, beckoning her over. She had seen Fawkes before, flying around the castle, but she could never recall being this close to him in person. A second phoenix flew in through the window, larger than the one that was currently before her. Which one was Fawkes? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Holding out her hand, she waited until the smaller one bumped its beak against her palm. Her magic rapidly depleted as its tail feathers began to glow a brilliant gold color. Her magic was transferring over to him quite rapidly as the larger bird sang a beautiful song that touched her core. It lasted only a few seconds before she was pulling her hand away. Hermione’s entire body was warm, flushed with magic yet her core wasn’t feeling as overwhelmed anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see you have met Fawkes and his mate, Dedelia,” McGonagall smiled from her spot on the stairs to her upper office. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought Fawkes left after Dumbledore passed?” Hermione turned to address her former head of house., in awe over the fact that </span>
  <em>
    <span>two</span>
  </em>
  <span> phoenix’s were sitting before her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He did. He returned to the wild for several years before I saw him flying over the forest,” McGonagall smiled coming down the stairs to pet the bird's soft feathers. “I began to leave the window open should he ever decide he wanted to enter these stone walls again. Around February he started to come in for brief moments at a time. Then, one cool day in July, he brought his mate with him. They’re a lovely pair.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re beautiful,” Hermione marveled at the similarities between the two magnificent birds. They looked identical, except Fawkes’ coloring was slightly more vibrant than his mate's more diluted feathers.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come, Miss Granger. What is it you would like to address this morning?” McGonagall summoned tea to her desk, magically pouring two cups. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, your letter stated that you wanted to see me, Headmistress,” Hermione plucked her cup and saucer from the air, enjoying the subtle floral undertones of the herbal blend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was hoping you could fill in for me for three days after Halloween,” McGonagall sipped her tea as Hermione looked at her confused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought you hired Mrs. Dibbins for Transfiguration last spring.” Hermione was fairly certain that was the name of witch she had been introduced to on her last day filling in for McGonagall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maternity leave. Samantha’s last day is October thirtieth and I have several interviews lined up for the following Monday.” She summoned several folders to hover in front of Hermione. “Please, peruse them and let me know of your thoughts. Unless you have changed your mind about my previous offer?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Headmistress. I’m still going to decline your offer to be a Professor.” Hermione smiled, although the look on her previous instructor’s face almost looked as though she didn’t believe Hermione. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Show me your orb, Miss Granger.” Hermione swished her wand in an intricate pattern as a small black hole began to form. A vortex started to form, magic of Hermione’s own making. She had combed over spacial magic for a month after receiving the orb, knowing that she couldn’t keep it hidden at home. The magic she had started to place inside was ever growing and her wards weren’t enough to keep it a secret, which was something she was advised she’d have to do at all costs. So with the inspiration of her undetectable extension charm from Horcrux hunting she fiddled with the idea of how to create it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hermione combined spacial magic, allowing the users to store items in a pocket dimension so they can easily summon it at any time, along with a casting spell so even during battle she could open her vortex if needed as it was highly flexible. However, there was a limit to how much she could put into the pocket before it would collapse in on itself. At this point in time, she only housed the orb.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my,” McGonagall inspected the orb as Hermione handed it to her. She seemed  nervous. It wasn’t very often her previous teacher was shocked. “What happened to it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It cracked the last time I tried to reduce my magic core,” Hermione played with her fingers nervously in her lap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, Fawkes and Dedelia took your excess magic. Merlin knows why but they have. Which means you’re going to have to get the twin to this orb. Have you been in contact since you were given this one?” McGonagall sternly looked at Hermione, causing her to sit up a bit straighter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I haven’t,” she was slightly offended, but she understood where McGonagall was coming from. Hermione hadn’t forgotten, per say, but she had been incredibly busy lately. Part of her didn’t want to disrupt the keyholder either as that wouldn’t be beneficial for the cause. Finding a secure way of communication that was outside of the Ministry wasn’t easy either since the downfall of Voldemort. The Ministry had decoded several different types of messages and coded objects that </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything </span>
  </em>
  <span>was under scrutiny. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You will need to figure out another way to channel your magic because I am afraid to say that the second one will more than likely crack as well, at some point,” McGonagall handed the orb back to Hermione who placed it back in its home. “Have you figured out why this has been happening?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. I have been reading and researching as much as I can, but there seems to be no record of anything like what I am going through,” she sighed harshly. She was frustrated with the constant dead-ends she was coming across. You would think there would be more books about magic cores, but it would seem not. Every time she stumbled upon something mildly interesting, there was nothing else to be found. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Magic is a peculiar thing. Much in the same sense where the wand chooses the wizard, magic protects its own,” the Headmistress sipped her tea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Magic protects its own? What do you mean, Professor?” Hermione inquired, the phrase tugging on the edge of her mind but staying just out of her grasp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Magic isn’t inherently good or bad, it just is. It is the wizard or witch that chooses the path they want to go down. However,” McGonagall glanced out the window as if she was recalling a lesson from her past. “Without a host, magic would cease to exist. Whenever a person turns evil, tries to eradicate magic in one form or another, magic will band together to save itself. There are people such as Grindelwald and Voldemort who have believed in what they did, amassed a large following, and tried to create a magical world in their image. People such as Dumbledore, or you and your friends, come into this word as pillars of light and good to combat those that are dark and vile.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then why doesn’t magic protect the beasts and creatures who use it as well?” Hermione thought back to all of the extinct species of dragons that she had read about and couldn’t understand why magic would let them die out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Human nature can be greedy, which you well know, but who is to say an extinct species is actually gone?” McGonagall posed the question just as she would to any student.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, texts say that they are extinct but I supposed they could have evolved. Adapted more to their surroundings to preserve themselves.” It was a decent hypothesis, one that had her wondering where these creatures </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>be hiding.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Breakfast will be served soon,” McGonagall flicked her wand to tidy up where they had been resting, the conversation abruptly coming to an end. “You will inform me when you go to retrieve the second orb?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Headmistress,” Hermione smiled at her mentor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. Keep a weather eye out as well, Miss Granger. There is something that is unsettling these old bones.” They walked out of the office together, said their goodbyes, then Hermione headed towards the apparition point where she was to meet Theodore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How was your chat?” Hermione looked up at the brunette with confusion written all over her face. She now had more questions than answers. Hoping for something concrete had turned into more threads that were unravelling and she wasn’t sure which one to grab first. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry. You’ll figure it all out, Hermione. You have the smartest people in Slytherin and the bravest from Gryffindor to help you out.” Hermione hugged Theodore, comforted by his words. She would figure this out and she wouldn’t have to do all of it alone, either. He apparated them back to wizarding London where he took her out for a three-course breakfast. Her day was looking up already.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*****</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fucking hell, Potter,” Draco looked around the office they used for investigations that was now in utter disarray. “I’ve been gone for a couple hours on an arrest for illegal hippogriff potion brewing and return to this fucking mess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sod off, Malfoy,” Potter popped up from behind his desk to pin another sheet to the board. “We have several dead purebloods on our hands, an unidentifiable white powder, and the Chief of Aurors handed this to me this morning.” Draco grabbed the paper that Potter floated towards him, grimacing at the fact that this was a direct order from the Chief himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seriously? He’s putting all three of our departments on this?” Working with Potter was one thing. He may have been shite at office organization, but he knew the rules inside and out and he never had to wonder about his back being covered. Weaselbee was another subject altogether. They only tolerated each other even at the best of times. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Apparently, there are some </span>
  <em>
    <span>esteemed</span>
  </em>
  <span> families that are currently worried about the safety of their families. Especially since this article came out this morning.” Potter tossed the paper across the table so it skidded to the end of the long table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rita-fucking-Skeeter,” Draco resisted the urge to incinerate the paper on principle alone. “People are still reading this garbage?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She has stated in the article that pureblood Dark Lord worshippers, current or prior, are being targeted due to the Ministry’s lack of successful capture. Even though the department has brought in three high priority individuals in the last few months.” Draco smiled as he remembered watching the disdain on the faces of Bulstrode Senior and Fawley Senior as they had walked past him in magic canceling cuffs on their way to Azkaban. He suspected it was the same glee that Potter had felt when they had brought former Undersecretary Umbridge in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is the department being paid off in hopes that we can somehow </span>
  <em>
    <span>miraculously </span>
  </em>
  <span>find a murderer?” Draco sipped his coffee, sitting down in a chair opposite of the board as he took in everything Potter had set up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Minister Shaklebolt has ensured that is not the case to whoever stepped forward. He’s making a press conference today about how his best and brightest are on the case.” Potter rolled his eyes while Draco snickered. Potter didn’t play the political game well as he tended to bulldoze through all the bull shite. Surprisingly, Weaselbee had been quite good at handling the press but he suspected it was due to the fact he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted </span>
  </em>
  <span>the limelight, whereas Potter knew how utterly overrated it was. “He took Ron with him for the PC so we won’t see him until later this afternoon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank fuck,” Draco muttered to himself, but the raised eyebrow Potter gave him clearly showed he wasn’t quiet enough. “What do we have exactly? The white powder has been looked at in my department and there has been nothing identifiable in our databases. We may be dealing with a potioneer in some capacity.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All the bodies have the same MO, death by heart attack. The medical examiner has stated that this white powder may be what triggered it, but there were signs of the cruciatus curse being used too.” Draco flinched, his mind immediately flashing back to when his Aunt had Granger pinned to the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Malfoy? You trapped?” He could hear Potter calling out to him, could hear him walking around the table, and felt the slap across his face that brought him back. “What happened?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When you said cruciatus curse I went back to that night at the Manor.” It wasn’t very often he became trapped in a memory anymore had been working tirelessly on his PTSD with his therapist. However, this one snuck up on him. The things he was exposed to as a young man inducted to be a Death Eater because of his Father’s failings was something he’d never truly be rid of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bloody hell. You good now?” Potter looked him up and down as Draco shoved him out of his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mom.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You hit like a fucking girl,” Draco smirked at Potter who was grinning ear-to-ear. Draco just wanted to move on from the subject altogether. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I did learn from the best,” Potter laughed as he walked back to the board. Clearly, he was referencing when Granger has socked him in the face their third year. It was a bloody good hit too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Granger know you’re fucking Pansy yet?” Draco smiled in victory at how rigid Potter had become.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re not at that stage yet, your perverted git.” The tips of Potter’s ears had turned red and Draco would be remiss if he didn’t poke the bear a bit more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what stage is cock sucking, then?” He leaned back in his chair as Potter sputtered a bit. He could keep his cool so he wasn’t as easy to rile as Weaselbee, but damn if this wasn’t a close second. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you leave my cock out of this?” He glared at Draco which didn’t phase him in the least. There was only a handful of glares that could have him shaking in his Italian-leather shoes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You gave me quite the show, such a thing is hard to forget,” Draco smirked at his win when Potter slumped into his chair, head hitting the table a bit more forcefully than was intended, he was sure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought we agreed to forget about that night?” Potter’s mumbled voice came from the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only in public. I have reserved the right to bring it up when it’s only us as I am currently highly amused by your embarrassment,” Draco laughed as Potter flipped him the bird. “Have you heard from Pansy lately?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have a date tonight, actually,” Potter lifted his head, a small smile on his lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. I’m glad to hear you two are getting along well, but of course I did have a front row seat.” Draco could see the spark of something behind Potter’s eyes, he didn’t like it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sod off about that already. Maybe Hermione would be interested to know about your kinks? I’m sure Pansy would just </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> to pass a few of the ones she knows of on.” Smug bastard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you fucking dare tell Granger,” he spat out, glaring. He hadn’t even been able to see her since the morning after the explosion. Part of him just wanted to take his time and explore everything with her. The other part, the darker part, wanted to tie her up and make her submit to all his whims. Not exactly the best way to claim the fierce woman he had fallen for, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Truce?” Potter said back in his chair, clearly pleased with himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Truce,” Draco replied before turning his head back to the board. “I hate to say this, Potter, but unless we get more bodies we’re at a bit of a dead-end.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes and no,” Potter pushed a report towards him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lovegood has reported an increase in creature and beast numbers in the areas that were previously inhabited by the deceased purebloods? That seems incredibly odd.” Draco thought that was odd considering Lovegood and Granger had been investigating it not too long ago. “A curse of some kind that was linked to the deaths of the purebloods?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s currently being investigated, but the  initial response is negative.” Potter wouldn’t have brought this up if he didn’t have something else to point out. He reread the report looking at the locations where creature numbers were on the rise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t these the places that Lovegood and Granger visited when they were investigating? That’s a very odd coincidence,” Draco hummed as he continued to run over the numbers and locations. “Any hypothesis?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I had originally thought about a curse, too. The numbers don’t add up, several of the species only breed at set times during the year, most of which are not in the fall.” Potter was right, most creatures had offspring in the spring or summer months. “The smaller the creature, the shorter the gestation period but it looks as if there are beasts and creatures who are currently pregnant that will have their offspring in March.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Correct. It’s not the entire species, just ones that are directly affected in those specific areas. If Luna’s calculations are correct, it’ll put the number back up to where they were prior to all the poaching deaths.” Draco ran a hand down his face. They had more questions than they did answers at this point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do we bring Lovegood and Granger in for questioning?” Draco inquired. It didn’t seem logical to bring them in because he highly doubted they knew more than this report.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you seen Hermione’s reports from their investigation? There is nothing that wasn’t noted, so there’s no point.” Draco snorted into his coffee at how Potter had essentially called his best friend a swot without using the word. “Chief wants us to continue to focus on the dead bodies. Dissect their lives to see if we can figure out if they ever crossed paths and such.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great. Nothing says fun like digging into a Death Eater’s past.” Potter laughed as the two of them started with their first dead body. He couldn’t help the nagging feeling though, that he should somehow know what was going on, but he couldn’t place his finger on it. He might need to head to the Manor for some texts. Maybe if he was lucky he could avoid his Father and have a nice cup of tea with his Mother. He’d owl her later and set something up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For now, he had a Death Eater’s life that he had to comb through.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I have been bust moving my grandmother into a senior living complex and my parents out to her farm<br/>The next update won't be until May 16th and then I will continue on with my weekly updates</p><p>Thank you to my lovely Beta for her work on this</p><p>Thank you for reading and following along!<br/>We are changing things up next chapter, adding some spice, so stay tuned</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shoutout to Cresentmoonmadness for being my beta<br/>Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments section or by hitting the kudos button, and please subscribe to the story for chapter updates. Hope you enjoyed it</p></blockquote></div></div>
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